I have filed a lawsuit against Best Buy and launched this blog in an effort to bring attention to the reprehensible state of consumer property and privacy protection practices at America's largest consumer electronics retailer, with the hope that it might motivate Best Buy to effect changes and spare future consumers the experience I have been subjected to -- or worse. The short story is that Best Buy and its representatives: 1) allowed my computer to be stolen from the Best Buy store in Tenleytown, Washington, DC, 2) fabricated records and tried to cover up the theft, 3) lied to me for weeks about the repair status of the stolen computer, 4) responded to repeated requests for a theft investigation and compensation with indifference and insults, and 5) demonstrated a company-wide disregard for legal obligations to immediately disclose the theft and notify me of potential exposure to identity theft over the course of the ordeal. Relevant documents and details follow the below timeline.
May 19, 2007: Shortly after I left a 1-year-old laptop with a malfunctioning on-off switch at Best Buy's Tenleytown DC store for repair under a service contract, the computer was stolen -- either by an employee or by someone who managed to abscond unchecked with the laptop from a "secure" area of the store.
June 2007: Efforts to track the computer were met with Geeksquad confirmation that the laptop was "not in the system".
July 2007: July 1, Best Buy's Tenleytown DC store informed me that the computer was "not in the system," provided a new reference number, and instructed me to contact Geeksquad again. July 4, a store employee created a false computer record, and the appearance that the laptop had been processed for repair on that day.
July 9 - August 9, 2007: In response to follow-up inquiries, Geeksquad and Best Buy "Customer Service" employees repeatedly lied about the repair status and location of the phantom computer. After disclosure that there was "no record that the computer ever shipped from the store," the laptop was finally confirmed "missing" on August 9.
August 9 - October 2007: Repeated requests for an investigation and fair compensation (<$5000) were ignored, then addressed with insults and lowball compensation offers. More importantly, Best Buy consistently failed to fulfill legal obligations to immediately advise of potential exposure to identity theft throughout the process.
November 2007: November 16, I filed a major lawsuit, seeking both fair compensation for replacement of the computer, its content, and expenses related to identity theft protection and the lawsuit, and the adoption of adequate measures to ensure customer privacy protection is given the priority it deserves in the future.
December 2007: December 19, I received a copy of a Best Buy lawyer's Motion to Quash Service and Dismiss Complaint. December 20, I sent a response, which was ignored. Independently, Best Buy's corporate counsel sent an offer for $2500 in compensation, with non-disclosure and non-liability provisions and no offer to address the systemic failure in Best Buy's practices, i.e., the main motivation for my lawsuit.
January 2008: January 3, I sent a response to Best Buy Associate Corporate Counsel's settlement "offer." January 4, I filed Opposition to Best Buy Lawyer's Motion to Quash Service and Dismiss Complaint with DC Court. At a pre-trial status hearing on January 25, the Court recommended trying informal negotiations to settle the matter. I advised Best Buy's lawyer that I would drop the suit if Best Buy would provide compensation for my expenses and time and address the shortcomings in its property and privacy protection practices. Best Buy refused. Apparently, Best Buy would rather pay its lawyers to fight me than address the issues raised in my claim.
*Funds received to date total $1110.35, which were unilaterally transferred into my credit card account by Best Buy in late October 2007 -- without my knowledge or consent. The amount does not even cover the full cost of replacing the laptop itself, let alone a fraction of the value of the music, pictures, software, and other contents that were on the stolen computer, legal and court expenses, the cost of identity theft protection services that I am forced to bear for years to come, or compensation for the estimated 200 hours I have spent since May 2007 dealing with Best Buy and its agents, the replacement of my computer and its contents, and pursuing the lawsuit because of Best Buy's indifference towards my initial requests. Best Buy also sent a $500 gift card to me in mid-October 2007 (with no explanation and despite repeated communications that I had no interest in a gift card that would force me to patronize their stores). I subsequently advised them that I would donate it to a non-profit organization unless they requested its return, and did so in December, after not receiving a response.
Overview and Timeline
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 455 Newer› Newest»How can so many people be behind you on this?
I've had my problems with Best Buy, but never though suing them for some insane amount of money would be a good idea.
Its people like you that have screwed this legal system for all the rest of us good people.
Get over yourself you retard. If you are shopping at Best Buy, and own a sub-premium laptop, your identity is not worth 54 Million. Furthermore, it is your fault for leaving your data in the hands of some incompetent dullard. I should sue you for being stupid.
"While you may disagree, I believe I am a reasonable person." Yeah. Sure. And how does this fit in with you claiming $54M? As a European, I have always wondered why (apparently a lot of) Americans think it's quite normal to claim extraordinary amounts of money in such cases. Sure, they made a mistake; can happen to all of us. And yeah, they probably lied to you. Naughty naughty. Now get this: IT WAS AN $1,100 LAPTOP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! $5,000 to $10,000 should more than cover for the laptop itself, the inconvenience you have experienced as a result of not having access to your laptop, and the way in which you have been treated. But I must hand it to you: you're not afraid to make a complete idiot of yourself. Way to go.
The idea of suing for an extremely high sum that you agree is unreasonable, for the sole purpose of "getting their attention", is offensive. You are making the courts do work for what YOU admit is friviolity. You've been compensated for the laptop. If there are relevant identity theft protections that Best Buy failed to offer, pursue that. You won't be compensated for time, or value of the data. You may be sanctioned. Your real life, as opposed to fantasy, recourse is to boycott Best Buy and recommend others do the same. But unfortunately, your fantasized recourse has negative repercussions on the legal system and all of us. Way to go.
Best Buy just lost a customer...I don't think I will shop there ever again....
i refuse to use Best Buy any more due to a laptop issue also.
My laptop DVD Drive went out and GeekSquad told me that i would have to give them the laptop for 6-8 weeks. they would send it in ( was under warrenty) wiped the harddrive and replace the DVD drive. after alot of negotations and direct connections with the manufacture of the laptop, i recieved teh replacement DVD drive and swaped it out in 5 minuets with 1 screw.
Geek Squad is in my opinion is built upon preying on the unsuspecting and unknowing. they are more interested in doing what they want w/o reguards to fair practices to customers.
As such Best Buy will no longer get my business ( and i loved that store, having bought cameras, video camers, tv's etc there).
5 min to swap out a DVD drive instead of 6-8 weeks w/o a laptop and i did not have to erase all my data that i have on my system.
you decide - was best buy and geek squad trying to screw me over???
YOU BETCHA!
I do not know the legal law here - but i do hope that Best Buy loses alot of business due to this lawsuit.
Circuit City and their Firedogs seem to be a bit better, but i have not had a hardware issue to try on them yet.
Ewing
Denver,Co
Looks Likes a few Bestbuy lawyers are posting comments... like .. blackbobcreative...
The problem is the super mega store complex of they are exempt from all laws and responsabilty.
I will no longer shop at Bestbuy ...
Good Luck I hope you win.
BlackBob,
Twenty grand is already outrageous. Lawsuits are supposed to make you whole after a loss, not make you rich if you win the lottery on Jury selection.
This suit is as ridiculous as the one seeking millions of dollars over a lost pair of pants.
Your first mistake was letting the Geek Squad try to fix the laptop. A small mom-and-pop store would have taken better care of your laptop!
GEEK SQUAD SUCKS!!!!!
B-buy is one of, if not the the number one most complained about company to the better business bureau.
DAVE JOHNSON-b buy does their own repairs in MN. How do i know because i bought the extended warranty on a car stereo, that they lost, found, lost, back order on part, Etc. I only got my radio back after i called the company that they said had the part on back order to be told the part was in stock. Listen to Clark on the radio, bbuy does not like for people to return items. I will shop at small stores, walmart etc.
I bet there are enough people that have been wronged by bbuy for a class action if some ag would jump on it.
I must say... you should've asked for less money, b/c now any reasonable judge is going to let opposing counsel "12(b)(6)" your ass out of court, due to the fact that your pleading can't possibly state a claim upon which $54 million can be granted.
snap?
When I saw the headline for your story this morning, I thought to myself, "Here we go, another ridiculous lawsuit". However, after reading the article and your blog, I changed my mind. I wish that I could say that I'm surprised by your story, but I am not. There has been a huge decline in customer service in general over the last decade. In my experience, Best Buy is one of the worst and I do not shop there at all anymore. It is sad that you've had to go to this extreme to get the compensation and satisfaction that you deserve. Gone are the days that a phone call or two would resolve something like this. Customer service now must be taught to ignore people and they'll quietly disappear. You have to become nasty to get the service that you are most certainly entitled to. I say good for you and I hope you not only get the compensation that you are due, but also that Best Buy addresses the core issues that resulted in this lawsuit in the first place!
Point 1 - there's no way this suit is worth 54M. If they did wrong, covered something up, lied, etc then yes they are liable to you and should have a penalty levied, but not 54M, that's just beyond outrageous, it's silly. you should also have backed up your data.
Point 2 - My personal opinion is that Best Buy sucks. Their practices are terrible, to the point where I've written complaints to their corporate leadership and local store management and the Minnesota Better Business Bureau. My beef was with their customer service--they push extended warranties on you over and over and over. I was with my daughter at a checkout register with a purchase. The woman offered an extended warranty and I declined it. She ignored me saying "No thank you" and just kept on talking! My daughter and I looked at each other and again I said "No thank you, I don't want it." She then began to argue, telling me that I'd be at risk if I don't. I said "no thank you once more" and she continued!! I'd had enough. I said "I'm going to tell you one last time, and if you don't listen, I'm going to leave this purchase right here while I have the store manager called over. I DON'T WANT IT. Are we clear?" She slammed the register drawer, began stabbing the keys hard with her fingers, ripped off the receipt and tossed it at me. I was livid. So that's when I wrote their corporate leadership, the store manager and the Minnesota BBB. The BBB and a VP's office at Best Buy wrote me back.
I will never buy anything from Best Buy ever. And I was a good customer, spending about $6,000 in the prior year before that incident as I remodeled a room and purchased a plasma TV and surround system and other items. Never again will I buy from them. Worst customer service I've ever received, nothing comes close to that.
Awww come on, don't rag on Best Buy just because your too broke to shop there people or have Credit card bills you have not paid. Best BUY RULES.
I get it, people. Reading is hard, with those big words and small difficult ones.
You're in luck, though! I did (can?) read.
She, herself, says: "I will agree with you on one point: $54 million dollars is not a reasonable amount to request for a stolen computer ..."
If you had read on, as I did, you would know that the $54,592,146.54 price tag is symbolic, and designed to bring attention to the case.
My guess is that, 200k (and Best Buy's promise that it wont happen again, etc., etc.) would be an amount that she would be happy with.
I had a very similar experience with Best Buy in the fall of 1999. I brought in my laptop for repairs per the terms of my extended warranty; in the months that followed, I was given the run-around on the phone, repeatedly misguided in my attempts to locate my computer, and after speaking with representatives locally, at repair centers, and corporate headquarters, finally got someone to admit that they had lost my computer.
After about three months my computer was eventually located and returned to me. I was never once treated as though I had a legitimate concern, offered any type of compensation, or even apologized to for my considerable inconvenience and expense. To add insult to injury, the computer wasn't even repaired when it was returned to me.
Because of this experience, I refuse to make major purchases from Best Buy and won't even consider utilizing their warranty or repair services, and actively discourage my friends from doing the same. It's too late for me to do anything more meaningful, but I'm glad you're making a statement about this.
I get it, people. Reading is hard, with those big words and small difficult ones.
You're in luck, though! I did (can?) read.
She, herself, says: "I will agree with you on one point: $54 million dollars is not a reasonable amount to request for a stolen computer ..."
If you had read on, as I did, you would know that the $54,592,146.54 price tag is symbolic, and designed to bring attention to the case.
My guess is that, 200k (and Best Buy's promise that it wont happen again, etc., etc.) would be an amount that she would be happy with.
I work for a local repair company, and as such, I can't say that a blow to Geek Squad isn't a merry, welcome start to my day. Competition is competition, after all. That being said, I would have to say there are two points to be established here.
1. What a ridiculous way to handle their mistake/intentional idiocy! I could only imagine the issues that would be created if a laptop was stolen from my shop, and I was not upfront with the customer about it. The problems should have been instantly acknowledged, and more-than-suitable reparations made. This was unprofessionally managed, and I believe that more than one job should accompany such compensation. If the most severe of problems can't be properly addressed, then they shouldn't be working there. Then, the second point could be avoided, which is...
2. This is an atrocious lawsuit. It was finally decided that the millions awarded to some half-cell who spilled hot coffee on their lap wasn't due the compensation they once received, and while you, as the owner of the computer, are apparently nowhere near as idiotic as the java-klutz, There is no godly way I can see that your lawsuit should be any more permitted in our nation's courts, without a major reduction in your request. You were treated badly by a company that isn't fit to sell a Duracell battery, let alone a computer or appliance. But there's never a correct excuse for the use of appellate manipulation.
Once again:
Boycott=Good
Frivolous lawsuit=Bad
~~Eric~~
First, Chris (Poster Above)...you're an idiot. She is in no way a consumer hero.
You have no case here...sorry to say. Best Buy had you sign a contract when you sent your computer off for repair. All data is forfeit and not the responsibility of Best Buy. If the product is damaged, they are obligated to replace it, which is what they tried to do and you refused. So they refunded your money on your credit card. This covers all obligations that you were entitled to. They also tried to compensate you with a $500 gift card, which they were not required to do but did so anyway. You have no case here. Best Buy's attorneys are very good at what they do, and I guarantee you there is no loophole in the contract you signed before you gave your laptop, willingly, to them. Yes it's unfortunate that you lost your data, but that is why you should always backup your data before sending it off somewhere, that's IT day one stuff. You have no case. You should have taken the $2500 when you had the chance. Now you'll probably get nothing.
Good luck!
Identity theft is no joke and has become a huge issue in today's society.
I wish you all the best in this case and hope it send a message to all the other retailers about treating sensitive information with kid gloves.
I applaud your efforts and approach on this.
I brought a laser printer into Best Buy for repairs. A month later they called and told me it was done. I went to the store and they gave me a different, much older model printer.
I said that this was not my printer.
They said, "Yes, it is."
I said look at the serial number on this printer and my receipt.
They said, "Oh, its different".
I asked where my promter was.
They said, "We don't know."
I asked if they lost it.
They said, "No, we just don't know where it is. It's not lost."
This went back and forth for a few minutes. Of course it was lost, but they would not admit it.
Then, they offered me $100 for a $400 printer.
The arguing went back and forth. Eventually, they gave me a $400 store credit to buy a new printer.
The problem was poor tracking or total employee stupidity.
I think some lazy employee went back to retrieve someone else's printer that was being repaired, and grabbed mine out of total laziness/stupidity. Best buy then gave my printer to someone else. Being that it was a newer model, that person, said nothing and left. What a deal, bring in an old printer and get a newer one instead.
I, on the other hand, got screwed. best Buy lied and lied and only in the very end admitted that they lost my printer.
This happened in Arlington, VA.
Best Buy has serious problems. This law suit is great. I hope it changes Best Buy for the better.
$54 Million.... thats crazy.
I live in New Zealand and this is exactly why people all over the world make fun of Americans.
Its very pathetic of you to sue for enormous amout of money. You just want to become rich overnight without working hard in your life. Shame on you.
You have the right to get your laptop back and if not fair reimbursement (upto twice the cost of laptop)
For those people crying about the amount of the lawsuit... that is immaterial... the ruling determines the damages not the plaintiff. You'll have to come up with a better take if that's all you got.
I stopped shopping at Best Buy years ago... good for you Ms. Campbell; whether or not it's Best Buy or the Geek Squad their customer service has reeked for years.
The only thing Best Buy is good at is aggressively pushing post sale profit (extended warranties) on people.
Privacy of your information does not exist at Best Buy. When you need your computer to simply have any software installed or repair any features in the operating system, it is connected remotely to Best Buy service locations in India and Philippians where it is then worked on for several days. Your information is shared throughout the world. This information will not be fully given by Best Buy. They care not for Americans and thier personal information. Be Carefull when getting service from them.
I'm so glad I came across this blog! As a computer repair professional, I deal with BB and their Geek Squad all the time. Your story, and the comments attached to the blog, are giving me an astounding look into the *real* state of their repair performance. It's tough to get good help these days, and even tougher to trust the help you do get!
Thanks for giving us all a heads up on these slugs.
I've read one time that the downfall of a civilization can be directly related to how many laywers the society has and the number of lawsuits going on. Apparantly, the Roman empire was chalked full of lawyers when it started to decline.
This is just another example of a frivilous lawsuit that clogs up the system and makes a mockery of it. I hope the judge throws it out and reams you for wasting time with such nonsense. Take the new laptop and get over it.
Your frustration with Best Buy is well understood and felt my many out there. But $54 million? I suppose we'll all be subsidizing that with higher prices at the store if you win this case. Settle this and move on with your life. Go hug your family or neighbors. There are far more important things to do in life.
Best buy has a history of this kind of stuff. Did you have nudie pics of yourself on there? If so, I'm sure the geeksquad guys copied that and are spanking off right now! While I typically shun these huge attention grabbing lawsuits, you seem to have a good case and i commend you for it!
I support you bringing this lawsuit forward to make visible BestBuy's extremely poor customer support.
I had an experience last year when BestBuy would not honor the written, extended warranty that I purchased. Three local stores would not honor it. Finally, after countless hours of frustration and numerous calls to BestBuy's national office, I received what was due. Not more, not less.
I was completely dissatisfied with the process and will never purchase their service or warranty again.
Good job!....
I can't remember the last time I heard of a Big Box being sued for $540 or $5400 ....
Oh Yeah..... never!
Thanks for trying to force change.
It be a shame if it takes a lawsuit like yours for the company to clean up its act. There is no reason why they can't at least prevent changes to their database without knowing who authorized the change. This will provide an electronic trail. It may not prevent actual computer theft but customer information could not be changed without leaving a history. They should compensate you for your time. They should compensate for your frustration and lastly compensate you for the machine. I have to agree with others that you should always always always backup your data periodically. So that is on you. I think they owe you a big apology that it takes so much effort for a company to do the right thing. In support of your effort I too will shop elsewhere.
Your actions and determination are commendable, and worthy of support from anyone who has been, or will ever be - a consumer of products and services that they have paid for in any form!
As for detractors of your actions - it would be interesting to find out how many of them either work for Best Buy, or its peers, in the big box US retail industry - which has systematically eroded all sense of customer orientation, service and respect - by solely focusing on short term profits; all that, at the expense of customer satisfaction!
I too have experienced numerous lapses in customer service and respect, at the hands of Best Buy, and wish you all the success in your actions against them!
Go get em, gal!
What a waste of judicial time and space.
Ever heard of BACKUP ???
That's what your supposed to do anyhow --- gues what, It's YOUR fault! Stop blaming others for your shortcomings.
Good for you. While we all know that the suit is not worth the amount you are asking for, it is obvious to me at least, that you did it so Best Buy would start paying attention instead of "crediting your account" without permission thinking you would go away with a whimper. "Best" of luck!
From the posts here it seems that there is an endemic problem with Geek Squad losing things. No doubt Best Buy corporate is aware of it but apparently has not taken steps to fix the problem(s). Its unfortunate but it apparently takes a frivolous lawsuit to force a company to assume some corporate responsibility.
Those who bother to take the time to read the facts of the McDonalds coffee case know that the woman only sued for about $1000 in medical expenses. The jury awarded her millions because the trial turned up hundreds of cases of serious burns (some involving infants) which McDonalds turned their backs on. Further the problem could have been rectified (and eventually was)for less than a penny per cup of coffee.
I would be surprised if you get the money but I hope you teach to change their ways. It probably requires no more than some employee training and an extra form or two.
MY Hero !!
Go Gettem' !!
Oh and next time, load it with CompuTrace aka Lojack for computers from Absolute software in the Pacific Northwest.
There are lot of people who can't keep themselves from blaming the victim and criticizing her use of the legal system
I have news for you folks: The legal system has been abused by the likes of RIAA and dirty prosecutors for years. Two wrongs don't make a right, but you have to fight fire with fire if you don't have a fire hose. People are sued for millions when caught sharing music they bought. People are sent to prison for 25 years after being caught stealing pizza (an over simplification, but still grossly disproportionate).
All she's doing is giving big companies a huge taste of their own medicine.
Best Buy may or may not pass on their losses to their customers. I hope they do. That's what competition is all about. Companies that rip off customers can suffer the consequences. If their prices become too high, guess what happens?
There is plenty of money to be made by other retailers who don't steal from their customers. No big loss if they collapse. The ten dollar an hour sales people will find other jobs. Life goes on.
Oh, and to the "back it up" chanters: Whether or not she backed it up is completely irrelevant. She has no legal obligation to do so. If you think it's unfair for her to claim data loss, then I guess it's also OK to destroy or lose a bank's electronic records since they should have backup copies. She has the same rights to her own data as any other entity does. It wasn't lost by accident, it was lost as a result of incompetence or a criminal act.
Yes, it may be grossly out of proportion, but this isn't a case of a judge suing a dry cleaners for lost pants. In this case, she's the David, and Best Buy is the "I need to search your bags when you leave" Goliath. A big lawsuit gets attention, and levels they playing field. It's the only weapon she has. I hope she plants a big fat rock right in Goliath's forehead.
Big companies like Best Buy try to get away with this kind of "Events". And consumers are notmally not bold like you. All the Best and I hope you will send a message to teh Big Guys via this Law-Suite. But frankly 55 Million is little too much :) I'd say be happy with 50K.
I was expecting to see ads on your site. How else could you make money from this?
To "Chuck" from blackwednesday.org: If she was only suing for 8K, you wouldn't have heard about it for you to "support" her in it.
As countless others have said, the 54M figure is just a klaxon to her cause, and in no way reflects the amount she'd get awarded.
Awesome...I'm glad your standing up for customer service.
This belongs in small claims court. I can't believe that you would even consider wasting a jury's time with this. Why would you put any sensitive data on a laptop that could be used in identity theft? Why didn't you back up your data? Why should anyone pay you total replacement costs for a laptop that has a year's worth of depreciation? Yes, Best Buy sucks, but I hope the judge boots you out of the courtroom before this goes to trial.
Maybe next time your dry cleaner messes up you can take them to superior court too. Arrrgh.
Sorry for your laptop loss, but this lawsuit amount makes you look asinine.
Good for you.
Wish I could understand why it is that the majority of people who disagree with what you are doing feel the need to need to call you names.
How immature. Or are they just Best Buy employees?
There are a few ignorant people here posting comments. First of all according to the original post here, the plaintiff (the person suing Best Buy) stipulated a reasonable settlement of GREATER than 5 thousand dollars, after which true to form Best Buy (BB) tried to settle with approximately 20% of the original stipulation. However BB completely missed the point by NOT formally apologizing for their errors and behavior and discussing a solution to the issue at hand and how to prevent it in the future. Again true to form as a large corporation they did not want to leave open a possibility of any form of "admission of negligence" so they went ahead and just gave her a credit for an arbitrary amount on her credit card and sent her a gift card hoping the problem would go away. Best buy should have just paid her 5 grand with a letter of apology.
The point of the "54 million dollar lawsuit" now is not to bring attention to herself but to bring attention to Best Buy's practices and policies and customer service. Now Best Buy has a publicity issue, and a problem that is not going to go away for less than $500,000 since at this point there is probably an attorney for the plaintiff working on contingency. The attorney is looking at a 1/4 million dollar pay day and a chance at swinging at a giant...Even if Best Buy wins the case, they lose on this one with the negative publicity and thousands of potential customers that they could lose by hearing about what happened. Now there is also a possibility of a future Class Action Lawsuit against Best Buy since there are many customers now coming out of woodwork that have had similar issues with Best Buy. The best thing that BB can do is to quietly settle at varying amounts starting from 10 grand with up to 10 counter offers up to a max of 500,000 private settlement. Then if the attorney for the plaintiff and plaintiff are too greedy just indefinitely stay (stop) the lawsuit with motions and deferrals.
Advice to plaintiff and plaintiff's attorney: if you get a private settlement for anything over $100,000 take the money and run and buy yourself a new laptop and back up hard drive and find another repair person to fix your computer.
another person just trying to make money off a company...
Although the overall number been asked for damages might be a little bit excessive, the idea of settling for a few thousand dollars is ridiculous. At the very least, it should be in the high (hundred) thousands and not less, otherwise it will not carry any real outcome and therefore will not settle your discovery claims.
Also, my feeling is that some of the blog comments left are actually from Best Buy itself. Common practice which should be illegal all in itself!
Unfortunately, the majority of theft that happens in a Best Buy store is done by the employees themselves. I have a friend whose neighbor was driving around back of one of the stores after hours where he found a large screen plasma TV that had been placed outside supposedly out of sight for later pickup. He took it home, plugged it in, and it works great.
Supposedly, he's gone back a couple more times since then and often finds perfectly good laptops and other equipment all the time.
While your claim is valid and I agree that you deserve to be FAIRLY compensated, I just gotta say $54 million? Sure, it grabs media attention, but I don't think you'll convince any judge in their right mind to award it to you.
Good Luck! Hope you prove me wrong!
ALWAYS REMOVE YOUR HARD DRIVE, PEOPLE!
While your damage claim is absurd, I understand your frustration. I left my laptop with the geek squad. For five weeks I struggled to get it back. Every time I called, I got a different, contradictory story. After catching them in a blatant, demonstrable lie I demanded they return my laptop so I could take it elsewhere. They then told me I owed them for the standard diagnostic they had run the first day I gave it to them. After a long discussion with the store manager the fee was "waived" and my laptop was returned. I took it to a neighborhood shop I found online, they had it running perfectly in two days. The Geek Squad staff were disingenous and incompetent from beginning to end.
I gave up on Best Buy years ago when they
promised me a product that was to arrive by Christmas and it still hadn't been shipped by mid-January when I cancelled the order.
Trying to get answers about order status was like talking to a brick wall.
Call them Best Buy Bye Bye
Despite others comments here - you had no choice but to file a large $ lawsuit. If you had filed a lawsuit for $10,000 - I would never have learned of this story.
I am amazed at how large corporations like Best Buy act so arrogantly and ignore people that are acting reasonably. They could have avoided this PR mess - if they had just compensated you fairly and quickly. It is always in the cover up or in how the problem is resolved that causes the huge pain. Lets face it - $10-20$ is probably less than what they use in 1 hour of electricity at their stores.
Based on your story (found on google) and your blog here - I have a poor opinion of Best Buy and will contemplate shopping there again.
They should apologize publically for this debacle, remunerate you, and take steps to safeguard computers they service but MOST IMPORTANTLY - they should conduct training with their employees so that the company is not placed in such a bad light again.
GOOD LUCK, PLEASE WIN THIS CASE!! Give bestbuy a wakeup call. They treat their customers like shi*!!!! I've had 3-4 similar experiences too, but I was too lazy to do anything more than complaining to managers, supervisors, and the head quarters. Thank you for being my hero. I fully support your case.
As a former Tech Manager in CompUSA and other places, I can speak to this situation. I handled all repairs both non-warranty and warranty. It sounds like Best Buy cut a corner initially by not immediately entering the system into it's repair shop inventory; everything in retail repair operations depends on this ID and it must be entered at Point Of Service.
Aside from that, you are an irresponsible customer. ALL service agreements in CompUSA and BestBuy-style setups explicitly state that they are not responsible for any data loss.
Obviously you are ignorant to the reasons for this so I will elaborate: When taking in your machine we do not know the nature of the true error, regardless of what the customer THINKS it is. You could have a problem with virus infection or a failing Hard Drive, or any number of other problems which can compromise your data. We don't know until we check it out on the bench.
What a good Tech service writer will do is offer a backup service.
In my days as a Tech Manager I dealt with many customers who declined any backup, then came in to pick up their laptop after being returned from the manufacturer with all their info wiped, and went ballistic. Manufacturers don't preserve customer data because software is not covered by warranty.
When I would offer a backup and it was declined, I'd ask the customer to take the unit back home and make sure they had everything they needed backed up, in order to avoid the fee.
The only thing that BestBuy is responsible for is replacing the laptop. Asking for damages is foolishness. Expecting data security is living in a dream world. Just in the process of diagnosing a machine, my techs would browse the hard drive randomly. So would you. We even caught a child-porn collector by accident that way.
Grow up and read the service agreement you signed. Educate yourself and you will realize how uninformed you are. Stop grandstanding in the name of Identity Theft, this has nothing to do with the issue.
Matthew 5:38-40
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Reading through these posts have given me a better understanding of Americans. They just don't read or they just can not read.
This lady has said over and over again that the money is an issue. In fact, she, the courts, and the even the lawyers for Best Buy know that she is not going to get anywhere near that much. By asking for the $54 million amount, the news network will pick it up because it's a ridiculous amount. Like the man who sued the laundromat for $54 million, this woman knows she is not going to get that amount. But like that case, it will draw attention.
Now, you real morons who keep posting about the amount that she is suing, get some reading lessons because God knows what kind of job you're be getting. And help us God if you end up working with Best Buy.
I think some people might be missing the point. If you hadn't sued for millions, this would not have made the news, nobody would see this blog and there would be no pressure on Best Buy to change anything. I'm behind you 100%.
To all the people here criticizing her for suing for $54 million are missing the point. Unlike the laundry pants guy who sued for a similar amount (and was not willing to settle for anything less), this woman is basically using this number to bring attention to her case. If people actually read the blog you can see she's willing to settle the case for things well short of $54 million. The fact that the amount is so high has everyone talking about it, as a result her strategy worked and it's being picked up by news media around the country. All Best Buy had to do was address their policies and reimburse her for basically forcing them to do the correct thing. If she accepted Best Buys "hush" money, nothing would change and nobody would be any wiser. Sometimes big corporations need something like this to wake them up to consumer rights.
OMG - All they owe you is an apology and a refund of the notebook; maybe some cash. If they want to replace it, then there is no refund. You are wasting my tax dollars. I hope they sue you for defamation of character. $54 million... FOR WHAT???? Post your address so I can send you a bill for the legal fees you are causing me to pay.
please, you just want a lot of money and a lot of attention. I dislike Best Buy as much as the next guy, but for whatever amount you receive, Best Buy doesn't pay for it....we customers pay for it. Why don't you go spill some hot coffee on yourself and sue McDonalds on your way home from your Best Buy lawsuit? Oh, and here's some advice ... (newegg.com) ...my cheaper and more reliable "best buy"
I'm in total support of what you are doing. I think the people who are criticizing you, calling this a "frivolous lawsuit" don't understand why you're doing this. Of course the amount you're suing for is egregious to say the least, but you are doint it to prove a point, knowing full well you won't win the amount stated in your suit. This isn't a frivolous lawsuit at all and it's about consumer protection. Thank Ralph Nader for that!!! Consumers need more protection from terrible retailers and I'm afraid Best Buy is in dire need of a LESSON it won't soon forget!
It is a shame you were dealt with in such an unprofessional manner. I have also experienced problems with one of Best Buy's repair departments. However, this problem is not worth $54 mill. You are now in the category of the McDonald's coffee lady. You know full well they will settle for a few mill or a few hundred thousand to avoid bad publicity. If this lawsuit is genuine and not a get rich quick skeem, how much of your winnings will you donate to consumer protection rights causes? My guess is, not one dime.
Everyone comparing this to the judge suing the dry cleaners is missing a big point. This is not a mom-and-pop business that made a mistake. This is a massive corporation with a $19.3 billion market cap that systematically abuses its customers. This law suit brings to light these matters.
Furthermore, this news story will grab people's attention. Maybe they'll start to read up on Best Buy a little bit and realize they have horrible customer server. That their employees are underpaid, which causes horrible customer service. Maybe they'll realize that Geeksquad is a bunch of hacks. Because at the rate they pay, all they can get are hacks. Maybe they'll realize that they are buying overpriced junk. Not that Best Buy didn't always have junk, but it used to be cheap until they drove all the competition out of business and then they shot their prices up. And maybe then people will stop going there until Best Buy changes.
But what will probably happen is you will continue to go to Best Buy because it's cheap or the only thing around (I have never heard anyone say "I shop at Best Buy for the excellent customer service"). This woman will win $1-$54M, and Best Buy won't care because they have a $19B market cap. They only thing they care about is getting to a $20B market cap. And they'll do that by selling crappier equipment, paying their employees crappier wages, and providing crappier customer service.
Chris G - Boston, MA
Way to go!
I'm so sick and tired of big corporations screwing over the people that keep them in business. I had an ordeal with Best Buy several years ago in which they totally ruined my credit. It took 14 months before the matter was resolved, and two years before my credit restored. Where's the fairness in that?
I'm glad you're pursuing this matter! The stress and heartache they cause is seriously unhealthy, and unnecessary. I wish they'd do away with all senseless bureaucracy that leaves those who they "serve" almost completely powerless.
All the best to you, lady.
Best Buy definitely needs a wake up call in the realm of customer service and efficiency. My girlfriend and I have been put through hell by our local geek squads inability to effectively service her computer. I am a very compassionate and understanding person, but due to their continued mistakes and inconsistencies I went ballistic on them. We have sworn off purchasing anything ever again from Best Buy.
To: Dave Johnson
Dave, you state that if BB sent out the laptop for repair then it isn't their fault.
Fault isn't the question here, it is responsibility. And legally, BB does have responsibility for that computer.
And I would also point out that it is likely that waiver about data loss could be shown by good legal counsel to not apply in this case.
Way to go!
I'm so sick and tired of big corporations screwing over the people that keep them in business. I had an ordeal with Best Buy several years ago in which they totally ruined my credit. It took 14 months before the matter was resolved, and two years before my credit restored. Where's the fairness in that?
I'm glad you're pursuing this matter! The stress and heartache they cause is seriously unhealthy, and unnecessary. I wish they'd do away with all senseless bureaucracy that leaves those who they "serve" almost completely powerless.
All the best to you, lady.
I m fully behind you. The amount of lawsuit is NOT the case, but it is the only way to give a lesson to corporate. If i was you, i would make a vow that i will donate the money minus expenses to some charities. So people will not think i m a leach of the legal system.
cheers up
I need your lawyer! Gave an IBM laptop to Best Buy to "format" the HD. IBM is very proprietary about how the HD is formated. They assured me they knew what they were doing after I asked them repeatedly if they could format a IBM HD. One hundred and forty dollars later, they called a week later and said the HD was bad would I want a new HD? Well, if the HD was bad, sure but did they format a zero drive on the HD when they formated it? They assured me they knew what they were doing. Another one hundred and eighty dollars later the new HD was installed. I asked them if the IBM recognized it? They assured me it did but for another hundred and forty dollars they would install Win XP Professional on it. I told them I already had that disk and would install it myself.
My laptop is a boat anchor. It doesn't boot from the HD and won't recognize it. There is NO drive zero formated on the HD for it to boot from. Best Buy told me they would "look at it" for another hundred and forty dollars.
Gadzooks people, I'm intelligent enough to realize these people have no idea how to format a IBM laptop HD which needs zero sector to boot from. I checked my old HD which I was smart enough to request when I paid for the laptop. It is operational with only drive C no zero drive sector. They formated it, couldn't get it to boot up and called it a bad drive.
I too sent letters to everyone higher up at Best Buy trying to get this resolved without any response besides "not their fault" because I had a twenty year old laptop. Dumb, dumb, it is or was a three year old laptop at that time. They couldn't even get the mfg date right!
Gave this to my lawyer and he has done absolutely nothing in a year and half.
I guess, like you, I'm going to have to file a lawsuit against Best Buy to resolve this or just accept the fact they wiped my laptop and charged me more than three hundred for being complete idiots there.
Hello, IBM would you please put zero drive back on my HD so I can use my laptop again? And for God's sake don't let Best Buy get anywhere near it.
always,
Barb
Your greed and especially that of your lawyers is the real problem with your lawsuit.
When I shop at Best Buy should I send you a payment for my portion of the cost of your law suit should you prevail?
You go girl!
54 million is a great way to get people's attention. I wouldn't have read this blog if it weren't for an internet news article where "54 million dollars" was in the main title. There comes a time when one becomes so frustrated with the lack of integrity of big companies. I'm sure they didn't care at all what happened to your laptop and as far as them lying to you, I think it was just to get you out of the store or off the phone until the next shift came on. I work for a big company and that's how the bucks are passed.
I hope you win!
I hope you win $54,000,000!!
After reading the comments posted here, I will not shop at best buy again. So.... your lawsuit IS working!
I have a small computer repair business in Boynton Beach, FL. I have to say that I receive several computers that have been "geeksquad-ed" and I repair them with one half of my brain tied behind my back! Last case: Lady had an emachine that wouldnt boot after installing SP2, geeksquad charged her 350 dollars to tell her they did extensive testing and she needs to send her hd out for data recovery! I took the laptop and looked at the error code and googled it, found out that all you have to do is run bigfix and download the patch to fix a bios issue with sp2. I charged her 75 dollars, I felt bad for her that she was ripped off 350 dollars by those bumbs!
Many of you posting are missing the whole point about the 54m amount.
If she went with a more "reasonable" amount, it would never get the attention of BB executive staff.
In a company the size of BB, $20k suit would be handled by some low level guy our outsourced lawyer. It would never make the executive meeting agenda.
Now that there is attention to the matter, Sr management at BB is required to perform due diligence into the matter, which will include an investigation into if this is a single store issue or if it is systemic.
This isn't a case of where BB lost a laptop and tried to deal with the situation legitimately. If there was indeed a cover-up and falsified documetation, then we are talking about criminal actions.
Lets not forget that failure to report a crime is illegal. So is falisifying documents with intent to hide a crime.
In any case, if BB had handled this promptly and fairly in the first place, there would be no problem.
According to google finance, Best Buy (BBY) reported $1.37 billion in net income for 2007. Now, how do you expect them to improve their obligations if consumers are willing to settle at cost (arguably $1500 in product/services in this case). There's little incentive to improve their practices if consumers are simply willing to accept it
She could have sued for 50 dollars, 54 million dollars or even 100 billion dollars. The amount is irrelevant. Judgments are determined regardless of claims and the resulting claim will be dictated by the courts. In other words, those of so concerned with a "legal system" because of the "inflated" claim needn't worry.
This responses to this blog and the fact that I found it as a top syndicated story are proof that the defendant is already successful in her goals, at least to some degree.
You go girl!
54 million is a great way to get people's attention. I wouldn't have read this blog if it weren't for an internet news article where "54 million dollars" was in the main title. There comes a time when one becomes so frustrated with the lack of integrity of big companies. I'm sure they didn't care at all what happened to your laptop and as far as them lying to you, I think it was just to get you out of the store or off the phone until the next shift came on. I work for a big company and that's how the bucks are passed.
I hope you win!
I hope you win $54,000,000!!
After reading the comments posted here, I will not shop at best buy again. So.... your lawsuit IS working!
While I sympathize, I don't think you're going to get $54 million. However, I hope you get everything you can.
I gave up on Best Buy after almost buying a notebook from them. I came in with the desired model number in hand, and no intention of buying any service packages. The annoying little schmuck behind the computer counter was so rude to me (Queensborough Mall in Flushing, NY) that I left, bought the same model at a Circuit City, (where the staff seemed to actually WANT a sale) and never returned.
She has already won.
If she had sued for $20,000, you would never have read about her. That you did read about her costs BB about $50 million in terms of negative advertising, so she wins even if BB doesn't lose in court.
I have heard other Geek Squad stories... but so have you.
I have been on Bust Bey's side of this argument twice. The first time is uninteresting; it was purely my error and I was able to make it right.
The second time involved a age-crashed operating system, the replacement computer, the hard drive in the new computer that failed a week later, the replacement hard drive that failed two weeks after that, and my over-zealous tech who reloaded Windows on the original dead computer which the customer and I had agreed was to be preserved as the backup copy.
A data salvage specialists said the third replacement drive had failed because it had been stuck hard enough to scratch the media, so the fault was not all mine. Still, as a merchant who valued his good name, I bought back the new computer, gave him his old computer back, and nodded politely when he told me he was going to sue (and never even told him how much money I had spent trying to save his data by sending the abused drive and a sacrificial clone to the specialist.
I don't blame him for being mad at me. And he may yet sue me, but I have done my best to fix the problem that I caused (when my tech didn't get the word to preserve the old computer).
I choose the companies I deal with on the basis of how they stand behind me when things go wrong. Even first-class equipment is going to fail a certain percentage of the time and I want to deal with companies that are... *conspicuously* helpful when I'm up to my ass in alligators. I want to pay the couple of dollars extra per component that allow me to be *conspicuously” helpful when my customer is having a bad day.
Bust Bey doesn't make the cut. I'm not sure any mass retailer could. Their specialty is moving large amounts of product at the lowest possible price.
Mom & Pops are specialists in building personal relationships, in keeping people happy, in repairing the lowest-price junk which the mass retailers sell. Geek Squad is BB's attempt to cut into Mom & Pop's specialty, but without the customer satisfaction part. It won't work.
Do you have proof that you even gave them a laptop? Why don't you just accept the fact that corporations make mistakes just like you. If you get $54 mil because of this I hope you choke to death on check they send you so you can never use it.
i stopped patronizing best buy a few years ago for many reasons. customer disatisfaction was just one of many i myself experienced, low on items, ordering wrong items, bringing the wrong item to install. yes, and my husbands work computer needed repair, they sent it the regional repair center only 2 hours from our home (for us to drive) but it took weeks to repair and to get back home. finally, we had a relative that was fired from one of the best buy stores he worked in for being 5 minutes late. His car was stalling out while he was driving to work on a weekend, sunday morning. he tried calling the store from his phone while trying to get to work in the car to inform them of the problem he was having, but because they were in their usual morning meeting where no phones are so they are not bothered, and no one would pick up the phone when it rang because no one was there (they crank the music when the store is closed), no one answered the phone call. he got the ax because they said he didn't try calling someone at the store to inform them what happened and he was late. the employee worked for the best buy corporation for 6 years, had worked in every department of the store to learn every area, and had just received a recommendation and watch from corporate headquarters for the service and dedication he had given them, and had setup brand new stores in the different towns for the company. when this firing happened corporate was contacted, it was told that it could be investigated, but who would be doing the investigation of the firing and drawing up the conclusion if it was warranted was the person who did the firing. corporate couldn't do anything until they saw what the investigation revealed. they said it was corporate policy. when the person that did the firing got the call from corporate, he was not happy and a call come to his cell telling him that he would never get his job back, and he didn't. it was a sad day for him, and for best buy customers as he loved his job and who he served. i am very sorry you lost your computer and i hope that it didn't get into the wrong hands. you know, sometimes it's not the money that people are after when they sue another. it's protecting others, so this won't happen again to anybody else in the future. thank you for donating the $500 gift card to charity. it says alot about your character and integrity. god bless.
54$m?
You must be crazzy. You americans sue everybody for no reason!
I support you. Best buy is the most evil retail there!
"I did not lose the computer and its contents as a result of how they repaired the computer, but because the store let the computer be stolen/lost."
You lost your computer because the store let it be stolen/lost.
You lost its contents because you didn't take the simple precaution of backing up your data. Anyone with half a brain knows that you do not take a computer in for service without backing up the data and software.
(And I'm sorry, but your "they didn't have me sign a waiver" story is an excuse as old as the hills. Where's the supposedly falsified document?)
BestBuy owes you a new computer.
You owe it to BestBuy to accept responsibility for the data loss.
Please don't clog up our overtaxed courts with such frivolity.
Good luck with your lawsuit!
Ignore the idiots calling your lawsuit "frivolous".
I hope they pay out big for this.
Big companies feel they can push the little people around because they can easily swallow your time by directing you to minimum wage drones and paper-trail you to death.
Even if you boycott, their is a mass of consumers ready to replace you, kick them in the groin and make them remember that they can't take advantage of us!
Go consumer!
I hope that all the folks that were cursing you and calling names have to have their computers serviced by the weak squad.
Several years ago there were some news articles about how BB laid off all of their qualified people and replaced them with part-time students and such. They figured that the loss of business due to poor service would be balanced out by the savings in wages.
BB made a conscious decision to stick it to the consumer. Now it's the consumer's turn to choose.
You're not worth $54 million. Especially if you have time to burn writing this egotistical blog. I hope your $54M greed loses you the suit.
While it is clear that BB was in wrong, using a civil suit to punish them over and above the amount of money in lost equipment, lost time in equipment use for business, personal time (in phone holding hours) is unreasonable. From the other point of view and trying to be fair, anyone waiting more that 20 minutes to inform you that they lost track of your $1000 plus equipment is also unreasonable.
I'd say they owe you $20K + legal fees and a play-by-play account of security cam. There is little chance that competent execs would have let your first call go uninvestigated if you told them what store and what receipt ID which is to say: There is missing info on WHY they have done things like post $1100 on your card. Was this a lemon issue before it was lost? Were harsh words exchanged and the clerk was so hurt/angry that he/she tossed/smashed it? Did you give it to them just after such and they smashed the wrong PC? Was it destroyed as part of the equipment that cannot be returned to manufacturer? (Some stores have a department that does that.) Did you leave the receipt there and someone refunded it?
I had a similar issue with Best Buy in the past. After keeping a broken part for months claiming parts were being ordered they finally admitted to me that the part was actually lost the whole time. They wouldn't refund my money, instead they offered me a higher model that would have cost me another $50. After fighting with them for months to refund my money in full, which they refused, I took the issue to Visa and they refunded my money. Best Buy appealed and had it overturned. I called Visa to complain and the woman I spoke to said she would personally call the Best Buy store and talk to their manager to hear his side of the story. She called me back and said "I spoke to Dick, their manager. Boy does his name fit. After speaking to him I'm going to refund your money...and I'll never go to a Best Buy again since this is how they treat customers."
Ignore the people saying you are wasting taxpayer money or that this is making a mockery out of the legal system...they probably work for Best Buy. Best Buy has screwed over so many people it's pathetic. I actually can't believe they are still in business. I guess some consumers are clueless.
Look at what stolen computer files can do: (supposely files on HK Star's laptop was stolen when he brought in for service):
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cnn+edison+chen
I think you did get screwed and you are worthy of being compensated the cost of the computer and possibly any REASONABLE identity theft protection.
However, you really should have had your data backed up long before you even required service.
Best of luck to you.
Regardless of what you asked for in compensation, I don't believe you can receive by law more than what you have lost. Unfortunately, I am not sure your time dealing with this can be compensated. But I could be wrong, and am interested. Does anyone out there know this?
Outside of that, I applaud you for standing up and forcing a company to live up to it's implied reputation for service. There is so much of this kind of garbage going on and apparently it takes a law suit to catch the attention of someone who can fix it! (It is not just Best Buy, either).
Another question; If the company agrees to reimburse you for your computer, the cost of identity theft protection, and the time you spent on this, are you going to still ask for the customer service improvements? And if they promise to improve their customer service, will that make you shop at the store again and what kind of metric will you use to say they actually improved?
I think Best Buy has an opportunity here to really improve customer relations by handling this properly. But you just keep pushing them, it will make them a better company for everyone. (Plus it feels good getting your pound of flesh!)
I've never had any problems with Best Buy, but I'm behind you on this.
Huge corporations like this often have little oversight for individualized problems, relying on Division Managers, Store Managers, and Shift Leaders to practice and ensure quality customer service. Should the company as a whole still be held accountable for less than stellar service. Of course! I applaud your effort at making a statement and hope your 15 minutes is enough to render real change.
To all you naysayers: Can someone please explain why this woman should be punished in the court of public opinion for "idiotically" not backing up her data, "foolishly" taking her computer to Best Buy for repair, and then "frivolously" trying to gain reparations through a symbolic lawsuit? The majority of comupter users don't back up data; those who do are above average users. Why wouldn't someone take a product back to the store they bought it from to have it repaired? God forbid we should expect a company to repair a product it sold. And as far as the $54 Million, she has already said it was a symbolic amount. READ before you write.
Best Buy made several mistakes in their dealings with this woman. Failing to provide a waiver, falsifying documents and lying to a customer are certainly grounds for action to be taken.
Good Luck Ms. Campbell. I wish you all the best.
The 54 million that you're suing for is way out of line. How much personal data is worth that much? As for the music, I hope it's all legally downloaded or you'll be in for a surprise when you not only pay your ridiculous court and lawyer fees but then find yourself facing the issue of illegally downloaded music. What a waste of people's time.
And seriously, I know this isn't your intent, but for the other people who think that Best Buy shutting down would be a great solution, what would you do with the few million employees they hire, or how would large computer companies sell their product? If you shut down Best Buy today and shut down Circut City tomorrow, within a year, HP, Toshiba, Gateway, etc. etc. would be facing serious financial trouble. If you think you have a better solution, open your own company, don't waste other company's time with you complaints about their practices, because not every store is like that.
I do hope that you recover your laptop or accept a replacement laptop and the 1100 for your data (it seems reasonable), and I hope for the companies sake that they don't pay the $54 million. I agree that the stores need to be more responsible when it comes to losing customers products (I doubt that the laptop was stolen from the store, but maybe lost in transit - just because they have no record of it being shipped out, doesn't mean it wasn't, it still might be at their main repair facility, just with no name attached since no computer record was made, therefore they can't send it back).
You will probably get it b/c there are so dumb lawyers and judges that will allow this to happen. I think of the woman who sued McDonalds because there coffee was spilled on her and she was burned. Coffee is HOT!!!!!!
Wow, I can't believe people actually think that you are costing them money directly, somehow abusing the legal system or that you only deserve whatever sum BB decides to give you. Suckers. No wonder people have to sue corporations to get a fair shake.
I have had concerns about service at Best Buy and have been on the fence as to where my annual purchasing should belong. After reading the information on your blog and keeping an open mind as to both sides, I am clearly NOT going to purchase anything from Best Buy here in the Chicago market. As a matter of face, it would not surprise me to see this story swept under the rug in a few days, however, the nice thing about "Web 2.0" and social engineering, is that I will pass your story on to my network of close friends, family, and co-workers, and request they vote with their pocket book on the issues you raised.
If I was an executive at Best Buy, I would publicly address this issue, apologize and emphasize Best Buy's committment to customer service.
What a great opportunity for Best Buy to turn this around.
I'm curious to see how this story play's out.
When we get a great deal from a megastore, we're likely missing some of the care a full-price vendor would provide. I certainly understand your loss, and your aggravation regarding their insensitive response to your plight. I prefer to pay the sugggested retail price and get the great customer service of a smaller store. Their knowing my name, remembering my needs and valuing my patronage are far more important to me.
And, I wish you well in forcing them to take into consideration their obligation to customers. And backup your information!!
Is it just me or does this "timeline" sound like the ravings of a crybaby? Do you have proof to back up all of these claims? How do you know that it was, in fact, stolen on 5/25? Did you actually keep a stopwatch handy and time the "200 hours" you spent dealing with Best Buy? DoO you know how frigging long 200 hours is? I sincerely doubt a lot of your claims. While I don't exactly trust Best Buy, I feel it is your own dumb fault for not backing up your data and taking the necessary precautions to protect all of your "sensitive" data. If you used your laptop as much as you claim, you should know the importance of this. What are you going to do with all that money? Donate it? You are nothing more than a greedy wench and I hope that you get nothing. Way to clog up the legal system with your own selfish - and baseless - claims!
It's dumbasses like you that make a living hell for all salespeople out there that are just trying to do their jobs. You treat salespeople like they are beneath you. Yes, I agree that them losing your labtop was really shitty and they messed up. It was also even worse that they didn't know where it went and gave you the run around, but I'm willing to bet you were being extremely rude and disrespectful and they didn't want to deal with some random lady being a bitch. But let me ask you this...have you ever made a mistake? Next time you make a mistake or accidentally lose someones property I hope you get sued for 54 million. If I worked for a retailer I'd tell you something just so you would leave me alone, because it looked like you are just the sort of psychopath that would call there everyday flipping out. The $1100 plus the $500 they offered you was more than fair. I agree that Best Buy doesn't have the best warranty support because I've had the same issues.
Also, to all the people that freak out because their electronics break...they're made cheap...get over it. They don't make them like they used to and that's why stuff is so inexpensive and disposable these days. Stores don't make the products and if you buy stuff for cheap you're not getting a good deal...it's because it's made cheap.
You're a disgusting human being and people like you make me sick. You with a combination of suing is what's wrong with America today.
Reading through these comments makes me think how stupid us Americans really are. We work our life’s away and let government and Business's control what we end up with. We need more Americans like you, that stand up for "What this is really about". We need to stop buying and investing in companies that are only looking out for themselves.
Great Law Suit. Oh by the way since you are getting National Attention if you have sent an iPod in for repair Apple sends you a refirbushed one. If you conduct a hard disk data repair scan you can recover the previous persons data, music, pictures and anything else saved to the drive. I called apple they weren't interested when I told them what someone could do.
My wife and I had a terrible time when we took our laptop in for repairs. It took well over 3 months until they finally replaced. I ahd to fight to that get my laptop back (which had personal info). They also do not cover copying over the data to a new computer. Because of this I will never buy another computer from them. I am also nervous of buying anything from them again.
Best Buy sends their stuff to their own repair centers. There is no way to directly contact them. The store could only send a message (in house email). Then simply wait to hear back. It was a terrible experience. I agree the amount seems a bit much but it does draw the negative attention to Best Buy and that is more damaging to them than the amount paid out in the suit.
Go get em !
the price is just right since her lawyers are up against a wall..
good luck!
Someone once said that over 80% of the world was stupid and I said no no that can't be true. However, it is people like you that make that true. You are complaining about consumer electronics like it is a Godly thing.
Why don't you try boycotting a company that deserves it like Circuit City that fired 3700 of its employees in Richmond Virginia so they could REHIRE 3700 younger employees for a lower salary. No, instead you are suing for a laptop they offered to replace.
You and all of your "supporters" are idiots and really I hope Best Buy wins, and sues you for falsifying evidence and for harassment. They have more lawyers than you do hairs on your head, and hopefully they will win and teach you something about the legal system. I read your story and sat there befuddled at how completely moronic this was.
Things happen, that company is very large and people DO, believe it or not, make mistakes, like your parents when they decided to have you.
You are suing for an unjust cause, and for a ridiculous amount of money, not because you care about other consumers but because you are a greedy, typical American. I fear for this country just because of people like you, and for those of you that are "praying" for her GIVE ME A BREAK. There are so many worse things in the world that require attention like that. You all disgust me and now I know understand why the world thinks of the USA so poorly.
At first glance when you see a lawsuit like this it turns your stomach. How could someone come up with a number like that? I used to think that way until I had a run in with Best-buy concerning a DVD player that I purchased. I connected it to my TV and had the kids a movie to watch. I went to take a shower and when I got out a porn video was blaring on my TV. I was sold a used player that had been sold to me as new. Though it could happen to anyone I wasn't looking to sue. I called to inform them I did not feel I should pay full price for a used player and that the need to tighten down and check the returns. Best Buy's response was that the factory left it in there and the player was new. I hope you get the money you are suing for and more. Companies that have the ethics of an Alley Cat should be treated as such.
It seems to me that if you are going to walk around the city with a laptop or leave it at a computer store you should be intelligent enough to have theft protection software on it.
It is both reasonable and expected that you are boiling-angry over the theft of your laptop. What I find unreasonable is your assumption -- and apparently others' -- that a high-profile lawsuit will effectively right every wrong committed under the blue and yellow sign.
Yes, you should be compensated for the loss of your equipment and information; is it possible that this could be achieved through arbitration? Could something, I don't know, less headline making ameliorate your situation? Is there room for adjudication of a less public, more ideologically impacting kind?
Maybe the question is, what would *truly* be your victory? What do you really want from this? What would happen if your laptop suddenly showed up, intact? Would you be thrilled or would it deflate your contrivings? What if Best Buy truly offered you compensation equivalent to new equipment (or the equipment itself), a compensation for purchased software & files, and fully-funded identity theft protection?
At the end of the day, is what you're saying you want really what you need? Or is some of this tied up in a personal need for retaliation? Justice and retribution are rarely synonymous.
While the $54 million may be a little bit way too much however I do appreciate and applaude your courage to take on the monster.
All the luck and hope you get an amount close to what you are demanding.
Cheers,
Manish
You are pretty much the epitome of what is wrong with our society. You sign waivers, you get reimbursed for the value of your cheap laptop, and you get a gift card but that isn't enough. You decide, being the self centered person that you appear to be, that your little problem should be the center of all attention. So you will clog up the courts with a stupid and worthless lawsuit to prove a childish point, a point that was made when they already admitted that they lost your laptop. So you will waste taxpayer time and money just to say you were in the right? And you are trying to prove that you are in the right by being completely and utterly in the wrong? What you are ten years old? Drop the suit and grow up. They lost it, they reimbursed you, move on with your pathetic life and stop trying to grab attention.
you should be ashamed... Everyone can make mistakes, that's not a reason to sue everyone. The world would be better without people like you
LOL external hard drives are like 50 bucks. who learned a lesson? theres no consumer like an IGNORANT consumer.
This is bullshyt. I work for Best Buy. To all those people saying 'there are horror stories here and there' ofcourse there, when you serve millions of customers a day sometimes something will go wrong. Do you think all the customers we help correctly and efficiently go online and talk about the wonderful experience they had? NO. But you take a little bit too long with one person while someone else is waiting and 'they are the worst retail chain in the world' For your information, Best Buy has customer surveys to try to improve on problems that customers mention. Best Buy has internal employee surveys which get sent right to corporate to make sure the employees are being treated correctly. What other chain has that? And to those who go to the local 'mom and pop' shops, or shop online at HP.com or something - the frequency of bad experiences are much higher but much less known about since there is no Standard Operation Model for these companies. Hell, you deal with any company where you will never see someone face to face and THERE you will see bad customer service. (IE DELL, HP, GATEWAY, all of them)
Finally, to all those people complaining about the warranties. I have life insurance, and it says if I kill myself I wont be covered. Everyone realizes this. Every insurance has some extreme it doesnt cover. Every person complaining about how their warranty screwed them is just pissed because they dropped their IPOD and the screen cracked and they didnt bother to read the fact that 'extreme damage' is not covered. "The kid selling it didnt tell me I couldnt sit on my camera and then get it fixed" is stupid and immature, just like saying "my insurance agent didnt tell us if he blew himself away I wouldnt get any money"
As employees we try our best. Sure its a business, sure Best Buy has to make its money. But Best Buy donates so much money, create so many jobs, and promote so much goodwill and volunteering. They are the best and most caring company I've ever worked for, and the one complaint I have is the assholes that walk in who feel that just because you have a blue shirt on they can shyt on you all day and then go online and complain about how you didnt help them.
By the way, on the off chance that you actually got $54 million Best Buy would have to cut that money from somewhere - most likelly it would be donations and opening less stores, which means less jobs.
P.S. When Hurricane Catrina hit, several best buy stores were flooded and hundreds of employees suddenly had no job to go to. Best Buy kept paying these employees their normal weekly salaries until repairs were made and they went back to their jobs. They didnt have to do that, and infact the president of Best Buy got a lot of flak for it from stock holders since it cut deeply into profits. Be careful who you try to label as the big bad retailer, and look at who's lives you're really affecting when asking for $54 million.
1. REQUEST AND MAKE TIME for discovery from BEST BUY Counsel.
2. Fight like a lawyer.
a) they WILL have people
reading your email.
(aka. use hushmail.com)
b) If I can read anyones email,
so can they. However, they
cannot use it in court -
BUT it is a REAL WORLD
tactic of gain in the
information age.
3. FORGET the people who
list negative comments
here have no idea or have
forgotten why they
are Americans.
4. You will be fighting what Best
BUY "believes is reasonable
damages" for hardware - However
there is NO WAY for them to
determine what type of
emotional damage this has
caused you
5. Lastly, You will WIN!
You already have the proof that
they are at fault.
6. Are you single? -- haha (j/k)
Hmmm... Don't you just wonder how many lawyers would acquiesce to $1200 and a gift certificate for the loss of their laptop in a similar scenario?!
umm okay wanna be extreme then ask for 1,000,000 $.. you could get that sum, but there's no way you'll get suck an astronomical sum.
Read the entire blog she wrote! Geesh people are so stupid sometimes. 54 million is to get attention. She didn't accept the gift card or the thousand plus dollars, it was put on her credit card without her knowing.
These stores need to be more responsible with other peoples property and stick to their warranties! I've never liked Best Buy or Future Shop (i'm in canada but shop in US) They never stick to there warranties and they should be held responsible.
I hope this lawsuit changes their policies and they smarten up.
Good Luck to You!
Wow. So many people who apparently haven't had to deal with crummy service -- or perhaps they are shills for "Best" Buy.
Sure, $54-million is steep, but without such a high number, would this case have drawn your attention? Would it have been picked up by news organizations?
Raelyn points out in her correspondence that even she realizes the number is way out of line. But do those of you who are complaining have a constructive suggestion for an amount which:
1) Is reasonable?
2) Will generate attention to put public focus on Best Buy's poor service practices?
3) Will generate attention from Best Buy corp?
And everyone who thinks Raelyn should take the hush-money Best Buy finally, grudgingly provided, I'd say you're the ones who are greedy. You're more interested in saving a few pennies at Best Buy, scared that prices are going to be soar, less interested in helping out everyone else who has service issues at these stores.
Raelyn points out that she asked for reasonable compensation early on, but Best Buy nixed that. That is what precipitated an unreasonably high dollar figure -- and obviously it has generated attention.
It is doubtful Raelyn will win the $54-million, and I suspect she knows that, too. What is sad is that Best Buy let it get this far. It is pathetic that they snuck money back into Raelyn's credit card account late in the game, just enough to cover the original (not replacement) cost of the laptop hardware. And sending a $500 gift card to their own stores (so they can make some profit back on whatever she might buy!) is a joke, both in the dollar amount and in principle. For those who would sell out for that, you are the people who are truly greedy.
You are acting like just another spoiled adolescent who wants to blame everyone for every shred of possible wrong doing they can find. Face up to your own problems and solve them.
Giving your laptop to their repair department without backing up and removing your data is like taking your car to a mechanic and leaving $1000 in cash in the glovebox. Really. Are you really that naive?
Most of your problems you have created yourself.
Congratulations!!!
There is no doubt, if what you said happened then Best Buy deserves all of this and more. Forget the amount; it's just there to bring attention, no one should assume that you mean to get it (you don’t expect to do you?).
The money that you've received does not compensate you for the time and effort that you had to put in to spending YOUR money in their store. This is EXACTLY what needs to happen. I don’t agree that if they provided you with a $500.00 gift card that it is any part of compensation to you as an unhappy customer, if anything I would personally see it as an insult knowing that you would not spend it.
As a consumer barraged with claims of help, guarantees and warranties you are all but force to believe that the big box store will makes things right for you in times of crisis and that you will not need to fight them to get your small pittance from them. And at times, if you find the right person, they will bend over backwards to help. In this case they obviously didn’t.
The internet provides a public medium for you to express your views and people will begin to see these sites more and more and it will force stores and services providers to change their ways as they begin to lose customers. It is your hard earned money, why would you let someone take it from you that doesn’t deserve it?
To the nay sayers, where does it state in the store that there was pirated music on the laptop? Who are you to even suggest that she does what you do with your computer(s)? How can you pass judgment on someone because that are trying to change a wrong not only for her but for you and anyone else out there that experiences this type of problem. It is not her fault that she purchased from Best Buy. It is not her fault that she took it back there to get it fixed, it is not her fault that they lost it (regardless of how). Bravo to her for championing a cause that is so huge and well beyond what anyone else would normally do. Does a store care if I boycott their product? No, I’m one person but now 2 or more might stop and think due to this and it may get others thinking and help show that all people have a right to demand change in something they feel is unfair or unjust.
To Best Buy, you need to realize that there are people out there like this and the number is growing. Each customer walking through your front doors might be the next lawsuit or internet blogger / critic and each person out there has within their means a medium to tell the world (or anyone that will listen) the good or bad they receive at the hands of your employees. Your legal team may be busier each day and be getting richer due to the lack of customer service, knowledge or common sense displayed by the staff at your stores. It is you as a company that is responsible for this not the consumer, it should not be our job to fix your issues but we will stand up and shout the loudest when we feel we’ve been unfairly treated.
For the record: I do not work for Best Buy, or any one else affiliated with them nor do I know the person or persons involved in any way associated with this lawsuit but I have had the “Big Box Store Blues” and I understand that it is such a daunting task to try and make a change that most of us are either just too busy or unable to afford to go further.
i think your a whiner and a cry baby
While I agree that Best Buy should replace the laptop with a top of the line model, this lawsuit is frivolous & only makes it more difficult for people with more serious losses to be compensated.
As for Best Buy -if the laptop was stolen, I'm sure that their insurance will cover the cost. They should be penalized for the BS they put the customer through, but not to the tune of millions of dollars. $10,000 or $20,000 is realistic.
Maybe you should try growing a brain.
I'm definitely not praying for you. You lost a computer, not your child. Get over it. To the guy who claims to work in IT: you should know that you backup your data all the time, not just when your computer goes haywire.
what idiot still goes to Best Buy. the funny thing is they have the worst products,worst selsection, higher than average pricing, and they are notoriusly known for understaffing return specialists and doing whatever it takes to keep peole from returning items. The sad part is , that as a consumer you should have known better than to get a computer from Best Buy. If you would have gone out and had someone build you one, you would have a) giotten what you wanted and b) probably paid less than the p.o.s that Best Buy sells. Your fault for going to a corporate giant in the first place. I hope you sue them so bad they have to increase their overinflated prices. Maybe then consumers will learn to quit whining and start buying smartly. Then maybe corporations would't own the world and run our government.
Best Buy Sucks but so do you for further damaging our legal system with frivalous lawsuits.
I hope you win, and I hope corporations like this learn some responsibility.
@Dave Johnson:
First of all, the logical next step would then be to have that contract voided as unconscionable at least under the circumstances. That waiver is intended to protect Best Buy in the event of a problem in the course of repairing the machine not in the event that one of their employees steals or loses the computer.
Anyway, if this had been my laptop I would have done the same thing. Some people store their entire lives on their computer and aren't sophisticated enough to back up externally. While you can wag your finger and say "I told you so" that's hardly productive and just makes you look like a schmuck.
Clearly she's not expecting to get the full amount demanded. It was designed to get attention and coverage of her case. Frankly, I applaud her creative approach in her quest for consumer protection reform because Washington certainly isn't doing anything.
And lest we not forget that BestBuy isn't an innocent party here. They have systematically messed up with controlling their porn obsessed and privacy ignoring geek squad and really dropped the ball with her laptop. Worse, they lied about it.
I have to agree with blackbobcreative, way to be a whiny, spoiled brat clogging up the legal system with your overzealous lawsuit. I mean don't get me wrong, you have every right to claim loss from this experience however 54 million is ridiculous and just adds to the frivolous many lawsuits for b.s. reasons. Certainly BB should be punished but why don't you dedicate all but $10,000 to charity or an org that fights identity theft or something that is constructive?
If I remember correctly you just had a power button that was broken. The GeekSquad fools should have taken your hard drive out and handed it to you. I've worked in notebook repairs before and I always tell the people that if it isn't a software issue, then take the hard drive out. That is their fault not yours. They are to assume that you have no clue what to do. These large companies really don't mind stepping on the little man because they think you'll be scared to fight. Keep up the good work my friend.
BestBuy - How Can We Rob You Today?
Two years ago I got also ripped off by BestBuy guys. My repaired computer came back from their facility without my VERY expensive graphics accelerator ($500). When I started explaining to them what happened, they didn't want to accept any responsibility and after all, they started questioning my claim that my story was fabricated. I told them: "Just check your security cameras, my computer was sitting on this desk two weeks ago, completely disassembled and that grpahics card must be visible on your video records...". Of course they refused to review security video records. I wanted to sue them and they got scared. A little. They got me a new GFX card from them after all but VERY lousy ($199) and not the same model, not even the same grade or vendor. They told me: "This is everything what we can do for you, YOU DON'T NEED A MORE EXPENSIVE GRAPHICS CARD FOR YOUR COMPUTER!!" After that I'd checked with our company lawyer to see if I had some options. Basically I was told I had no big chances against BB (BestBullshit) cos there's no evidence and such a lawsuit could take years. Bad luck. No BestBuy anymore!
What a lot of morons like blackbobcreative and others of his mentality do not or will not seem to understand is that this is a case of federal fraud!
1. You dropped off your laptop to have it worked on. They accepted the laptop. At that time under US Law, they became responsible for same and if lost or damaged they would be responsible to replace same with an equal product or the replacement value of an equal product.
2. They compounded the problem (Best Buy) after losing the laptop, by creating a fake timeline or paper trail after the loss happened. That is classified as fraud in every state of the union and in federal laws as well. In most states if the amount exceeds a set standard of usually between $500 and $2500., it now becomes a felony and it is now felony fraud as well as possible felony theft as if they would have just admitted they lost it and paid in the first place, none of this would have happened. I mean even the US Government when they lost a laptop filled with ID info, offered 2 years of ID theft protection. Since when is Best Buy better then the US Government??
3. Since Geek Squad has stores in this chain, both Best Buy AND Geek Squad are equally responsible under the eyes of US Law.
4. If they replaced over $1000. on your credit card, you should dispute it right now. If you do not and you accept that money, then best Buy can take that portion out of any settlement that you may receive. Not to mention that they can make a case (the wont win though as this is far below the cost of a replacement laptop)you accepted this money as a settlement.
5. I have done business with Geek Squad and at NO time has any agreement I signed stated that the loss of Data was not Best Buy's fault as Dave Johnson states. What the contract actually said is the "loss of data DUE TO failure of a hard drive-virus or malware-or damage to the laptop/computer by fire-dropped-crushed-etc., will not be the responsibility of Best Buy or Geek Squad." Dave should actually READ the contract as it does NOT say they are not responsible for loss of an item by theft or deception from their store.
Now while I agree the amount you are asking for is excessive, what else can you do to get their attention when you have tried everything else and are constantly met with a brick wall. Sometimes you have to take a bat and smack the morons right between their eyes and make it hurt so they will actually look and then start a valid discussion with you. And no matter if the idiots complain about you "clogging up the system" or not, if this is the ONLY way to get their attention so you can get a fair compensation (replacement of a new laptop-cost of the suit-5 years ID theft protection at no cost-and a written apology should be fair) then all I can say sister is smack them once for me!
I watched a news item of children st arving to death in a transit camp in Darfur. Try and use your energy to do something useful with your life.You clearly have too much time on your hands!I sincerely hope you have no responsible position in society.Pathetic.
You are just wasting your/everyones time and money. You will never win that 54M becuase that is way too much. You'll be paying for legal fees more then what you'll be getting in compensation. Your laptop was probably old and not even worth the amount BB has given you in compensation. Just take the money and buy a better laptop.
I say....YOU GO GIRL!!!!
As a consumer lawyer in Md, all I can say from the legal point of view is that I'm very impressed with your bravery and BALLS!!!
Recently my wife tried to return a defective item to Best Buy worth a measely $15 (at the Wheaton, Md, store). Since she has an accent, they gave her the run around, actually accused her of breaking the part, and refused both a refund or a replacement.
Big mistake. My wife is highly educated and sophisticated in business matter.
One single letter from her to the right person -- lets just say that she got hold of the bigwigg's contacts -- and after approximately $800 worth of personnel/time expense by Best Buy they capitulated and gave her a $25gift certificate.
End result, a future Circuit City/Costco customer was satisfied. Furthermore, the reputation of Best Buy at one of the largest and most powerful Non-Profit groups in DC is now in shambles.
Damn, you hear enough of these stories, and you start to wonder if you should just round up to $100 million!
Even if your laptop cost $1000 dollars, you are suing Best Buy 54000 time the amount that your computer costs, I'm not saying I disagree with you suing Best Buy but for 54 million dollars? Thats ridiculous. I agree with you suing them but not for 54 million, thats just being greedy and I don't think you will win, its not like Best Buy killed your children, just pieces of plastic.
I cannot for the life of me how dumb this lawsuit is! You are just giving aid to this "law suit" society that is currently rife within society! I wouldn't mind if it was a modest amount, but £54mil, come on!
I suggest both you, and this company need to grow up!
you Americans (i know you are not all the same, just the minority, or is it majority nowadays?) are promoting this stupid ethos and it is now spreading around the world. Why cant you be adult about it and try and nip that ethos in the bud????
I work at Best Buy. I had Geek Squad send my computer out for repairs on the motherboard. Well, some idiot ended up sending out my paper work with someone else's computer. And they had no idea where my computer was. They were completely insensitive to what had happened, and TO AN EMPLOYEE FOR GOD'S SAKE! I guess as long as it doesn't happen to them... who cares. But honestly maam, the amount you're suing for is hysterical and the fact that they eventually gave you money for your hardship is a lot more than what some other companies would do in that case. SO just be happy with what you got. And next time, back up your damn files.
Yet another frivolous lawsuit, you forgot one important step before filing lawsuit, ALWAYS ASK FOR SUPERIOR TO COMPLAIN TO!!!
You're lucky you got that much out of bestbuy. I hope you lose
Just to make it clear, you wold have signed the waver about the data when you FIRST droped off the computer, best buy has to check in everything under that, so even if you claim that it was created 1 month after you drop it off then they wouldnt be able to work on it and the computer would just sit there and not get worked on, here ill post what you would hav signed, word for word:SERVICE ORDER DISCLAIMERI authorize Best Buy/Geek Squad ("Best Buy") to:1. Perform the services requested on my product/products ("product") and I grant access to my product data and information for such purpose.2. Repair all apparent defects identified by Best Buy on my product.3. Use new or rebuilt replacement parts that perform to the factory operational specifications of the product.4. Install software (accepting End User Agreements on my behalf), utilize remote access and/or send my product to a regional service center, vendor, or third party service, which may be out of state, in order to complete the service on my product.5. Notify me for approcal of all service that will exceed the minimum approved amount stated on the service order before my product is repaired and to return the unrepaired product to the drop off location if I do not approve such repair6. Strive to meet the Estimated Completion Date, although Best Buy may change that date.7. NOT back up any data on my product unless I specifically request Best Buy to do so for an applicable fee Prior ro the performance of an service.8. Notify me when the service on my product has been completed9. Correct, for no additional charge, and defects in workmanship of the repair servicees for hardware (excluding virus/spyware removal or softwre repairs) within 90-days from the date of pick up.ok and here is the next part and I would like to make sure that you read the BOLD print, and it is BOLD on the paper that you sign.I agree to/or that:1. Refer to the terms and conditions of my product warranty or service contract for the information about coverage and applicable charges.2. Pay a non-refundable deposit on service/estimates not decernable as coverd (including diagnostic and other charges) under a product warranty or service contract. The deposit is refunded if the ercice/estimate is coverd. The deposit is applied to the cost of the ercice/estimate is not coverd.3. pay, without being notifed, up to the minimum approved amount stated on ther service order.4. pay for services (including parts and labor) I request if not coverd by a product warranty or service contract.5. present either this service form or a goverment-issued photo ID when picking up my product.6. Waive and claims regarding physical damage of my product if I do not report them at time of pick up/delivery.7. Best buy may dispose of my product if I do not pick my product up within 30 days of being notified by Best Buy that the service on the product has been completed and, in the case of disposal, I waive and claims to my product, including all data and information on my product.8. I am on notice that and product containing child pornofraphy will be turned over to the authorities.9. PRIOR TO DELIVERING MY PRODUCT TO BEST BUY FOR SERVICE IT IS MY RESPONIBILTY (1) TO BACK UP DATA ON IT AND (2) REMOVE ALL MEDIA AND STORED CONTENT FROM MY PRODUCT.10. WAIVE AND DATA LOSS OR MEDIA LOSS CLAIMS, WHETHER OR NOT I HAVE REQUESTED BEST BUY TO BACK UP MY DATA, AGAINST BEST BUY UNDER NO SERCUMSTANCES SHALL THEY BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS, ALTERATION OR CORRUPTION OF ANY DATA, OR LOSS OF ANY MEDIA FROM MY PRODUCT.11. Waive and consequestial or incidental damages against Best Buy tht may occur as of result of this service. and this last on is in bold12. I verift that I have read and agreed to the terms of this Service Order Disclaimer and that the name, address and phone numbers listed above in the Customer Information Section is accurate.what I jsut said above is the EXACT for you would HAVE TO SIGN in order for Best Buy to even take you product in for service, I sure hope you allow this to be posted, this at leat waves your right to be paid for ANY loss of data, as for the computer and anything else, I do not know how to help youMatt
In response to the sheep who keep saying that the consumers are the ones who will suffer in the end if this lawsuit wins, here's a simple solution. DON'T SHOP AT BEST BUY ANYMORE! That way you won't have to pay their ridiculous prices.
Tell me if this seems fair. Best Buy loses the case and jacks up the prices on all their items. Why? Because they refused to acknowledge their original incompetence and complete disregard to customer service in the first place. None of this would be happening if they weren't such failures at life.
Anyway, I hope they lose and people stop shopping there because of it. They need a wake-up call. And so do the consumer whores on here who support them.
The first problem is you took your computer to a company called geeksquad. Most of the techs they hire are right out of school where they learned computer repair out of a book, and most are just this side shy of mentally retarded.
Second
Your overzealous monetary claim is appalling. I do feel they wronged you but like blackbobcreative said, $20,000 is more of a reasonable amount.
Always find a good mom and pop place to repair your computer and stay away from the Wal-Mart of electronics where you are just a number.
I am totaly with you. I think you did a great job. I understand the frustration and disappointment that a person faces at the hand of these big corporations when you go for repairs. The countless number of times you have to visit the store and be humiliated with the lack of interest and respect showed by the employees. It ruins your mood for the whole day. Its not just the data on your computer or the computer itself, its about respect.
I am sure all this time you would have to live with out a computer and you could not even buy a new one cause you were waiting for your old one to get repaired. May be it doesnt have a legal value. But no one has the right to waste your time just like that. I ask all your opponents can you do this to the CEO of Best Buy. How would he like to live with out a computer and constantly waste time visting a store (Mind you this still doesnt inflicts the frustration that you would have faced.).
Way to be a Money Hungry @#$%^. Perhaps they did do the wrong thing but it is hardly worth a suit of this size.
Sounds more like to me that you just want some spotlight time.
I hope you lose and end up paying THOUSANDS in court fees.
This nation has become extremely to sue-happy.
Pretty soon I'll get sued because I sneezed next to someone and they got sick and missed work. Should cost me about 10mil per lost day?
Despicable
Nice. Comment moderation.
I suppose A majority of the comments "Approved" will be ones supporting you.
With the occasional negative one just so it looks like your not being biased.
i dont know best buy, but you seem to have some issues...
Don't let anyone here throw you off of your pursuit of making an example of these jokers. I was placed in the same situation little over a year ago when I returned my 4G iPod Nano(1st gen) for repairs and for two weeks out of a grand total of five for the repairs, Geek Squad swore to me that it was in transit. It wasn't until I threatened them with a visit from the BBB to have them verify said trasit logs that they gave in and refunded my money... WHAT A HASSLE!!! Best Buy has it's good and bad, with products it carries but with it's repair and return policy... they are just flat-out bad.
Good job, keep up the PUBLIC awareness. The only thing your making a mockery of is Best Buy's ethics.
I, too, initially thought "wow, what an egregious amount." However, you write that you've done everything you can - not just for compensation for your own lost time and data, but for assurance that their processes will be reviewed so that this don't happen to other customers. That's where I commend you.
I've been a consultant and engineer for the better part of the last 10 years, and I've always warned people not to use the big-store service centers - any of them. Their generally inept techs and customer-disservice personnel have but one approach - replace the hard drive, and wipe your data. If that doesn't work, it's no longer their fault and you've just bought a new hard drive, and all the time associated with replacing everything.
Personally, I say godspeed to you. Don't let them settle out of court quietly for some 'undisclosed amount of money' and a gag order. Circulate this blog! Make your point known! And god help you if someone /did/ walk off with your laptop, and your financial data was on there.
We're living in a day and age where "Do not stick in eye" is an appropriate warning for pencil manufacturers - Why? Because someone did, and then it became the manufacturer's fault. Just like the hot McDonald's coffee in the lap was McDonald's fault - ...right? (not)
Big businesses rely on passing the blame, and overcharging while shortchanging the customer, especially with technology, where most consumers are sent with their heads spinning from the technobabble. I think it's time companies like Best Buy (who is famous for advertising deals on a public website, but then hiding it from their internal website, so when customers come in without the ad, the stores say they've never heard of it? see http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070209/124307.shtml) give a little back to the consumer.
Though if that 'little' turns out to be $54mil, I think giving a little back to some charities and consumer protection/advocate organisations would get you some good karma points...
Good luck.
When I first read the headlines - I was outraged (thinking - let's sue McDonalds because the coffee was HOT - it still bothers me!!)
But as I read your blog I could see your side of it. I don't deal with Best Buy and don't have any problems but I had a HUGE issue with NationsBank (Bank of America when it was NationsBank) that went out of control because of their mistakes. I have about 10 inches of files in notes and letters.....but it was just me fighting against a very large corporation. I didn't win.
So I find that I side with you when reading through your experience. I don't think its fair that someone gets taken advantage of by a large corporation - simply because they can. There is a clear case of "theft" in this situation. This is the underlying issue - the "theft" of something left in BB's care caused this whole ripple effect.
I do hope that the judge won't see your acceptance of $1100 + the $500.00 GC (even if donated) as an agreement of compensation - we will have to see.
I do know that from your blog (and comments) that I will not subject my personal 4 home computers nor my 20+ business computers to BB or Geek Squad. I wasn't aware of BB's practices before today...but I would have researched prior to using Geek Squad or BB for their services.
I will have to admit that I learned the hard way to back up EVERYTHING - you learn this quick when you loose a 20 page research paper in college when it's due in a few days....since then I live on thumbdrives.
Good Luck!
dave johnson is a moron. Did you even read what have been posted. Obviously not.
"If sent out, to where? Good chance it wasn't that store's fault." You must be retarded.
Please don't post here anymore.
In a world where women and children are being abused daily, where children die of starvation hourly, you are suing for $54 million for a stolen laptop?? Are there not bigger problems in this world then that?
Most "normal" people know that when they take a laptop into a place like bestbuy they need to back up everything and take off anything personal from their hard drive. That's just common sense.
You should have asked for a new laptop and that should have been it. Anyone who fixes computers can accidently lose what's on the hard drive. It happens. Good grief.
Yes, things get stolen. Get over it.
Thank you. You just made my day as we had a bet on Americans and their lawsuits. You were the bad example I needed to win the bet. I really appreciate it.
Americans and their lawsuits...ridiculous. If you were going to get your laptop fixed, use common sense and back all personal info, and then delete it. You placed yourself at risk for ID theft. Best Buy did not do that. Sure they lied to you, but they offered to replace the laptop. Now you are wasting taxpayers money, and you are now raising prices for everyone in the future IF YOU actually win.....
You already look like a fool so you might as well smile when people laugh at you....America...The land of the stupid
This is just another frivolous lawsuit, just like the 'million dollar lost pants' suit. When you drop your computer off for service, you waive Best Buy from all responsibility for damages and loss of information. On top of this, you refused a brand-new, free replacement laptop.
As others have said, $20,000 is a fair estimate for inconvenience damages, but 50 million is overkill.
Way to clog up our already messed up judicial system with an over-the-top, attention-grabbing lawsuit. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame, but save some red tape for the rest of us.
The sad thing is that it was probably a spyware issue you could have fixed yourself.
Thank you thank you thank you for doing something to finally draw attention to the TERRIBLE services of Best Buy & The Geek Squad. While they didn't lose my physical computer, they DID lose my entire hard drive, after persuading me to pay them $90 to do it for me. Then they wouldn't even refund that $90 for losing EVERYTHING on my computer! We fought them on it for months and ended up with nothing more than a $50 gift card. Such a joke. Good luck to you!
Apparently you have tooo much time on your hands (im sure it took hours of time to make this stupid blog),how is a 3 year old laptop worth over 1,000$,the software you claim to have had was probably pirated anyway!You need to get a real job and stop trying to get rich quick!Shit happens DEAL WITH IT!this makes me sick,How pathetic ,they are right ,people like you make prices for everyone else higher,I'm hope your real proud of yourself,It takes a genious to sue someone,hell anyone can do that,IMO You have been more thatn fairly compensated,Enough is enough,people like you shouldnt even have computers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO the purpose of this lawsuit is to raise attention to Best Buys poor business practices concerning Identity Thief.
If Best Buy offered to you a new computer of your choice and agreed to cover any Identity Thief issues that you are ever effected by for the rest of your life and proved to you within a year that they have reformed their business practices would you drop the lawsuit? It looks to me that his would cover all of your concerns. I am sure even if they gave you this offer you would still continue on with the lawsuit.
I will be glade when your 15 minutes are up.
I don't think what you are doing is right...some "ONE" stole your laptop not the Bestbuy company...they had no idea one of their employees would have stolen a laptop. This is the sole reason why I am not going to read what this case is about at all. So my facts may be completely wrong and I may be making a fool of myself. But...at least I got chicken.
I have been to literally 100s of stores. I make my living shopping in stores and finding deals and hard to find merchandise. As a PROFESSIONAL shopper I can tell you with absolute certainty that Best Buy is the most evil deplorable organization in the retailing universe. From the deception and fraud by their employees to the absolute insulting standard service level. NEVER BUY A WARRANTY from Best Buy. NEVER Buy anything there for that matter. On the other end of the spectrum send your retail buying to Target, Meijer, and Costco, they treat customers decently (unlike Best Buy) and I commend them for it.
Hey! If you win, buy me a laptop. :)
I've been wanting one for years!
God have mercy on stupid people like you. Way to go for the "sue for everything" culture :|
Go find something useful to do with your time...go to the gym or something ffs.
I suppose I am not surprised that Best Buy lost the laptop, but it is completely unacceptable that the item in question was dropped off for repair on May 15, and not listed as missing until August 9! Unfortunately, the law only entitles you to the replacement cost of the laptop, e.g. just because you paid $1,500 doesn't mean you're entitled to that much money, as your laptop is now older and used, so $1,500 is not the replacement cost. As far as the data loss, the tricky part of the suit will be determining the true value of this data, and that will be the difficult thing to prove in court.
Look Lady, sue them for that obscene amount if you want ... but I will only believe your motives are good motives if you give ALL the momey to charity. Geeze, how greedy can you get. Yes bring it to the attention of people. Get them to admit they were wrong, accept a REASONABLE AND JUST amount for your loss. Anything over and above like you are asking, then GIVE IT AWAY TO PEOPLE WHO REALLY DESERVE IT. Just think how many kids who are blind you could save in third world countries, starving you could feed. Do the right thing .. give it all away if you win.
I am so very sick of these outlandish lawsuits. All too often they are a poorly disguised attempt to place responsibility onto someone else, usually a faceless corporation deemed as evil. The adverse effects on our society aren't considered by the self-motivated plaintiff and certainly not by the slimy lawyers representing them. The US has become a ridiculously litigious society thanks to idiots like you. Thanks a lot.
Go you!
I find it a shame that not only is BB acting so reprehensibly, the authors of the negative comments here don't realize the point of your lawsuit. Until their merchandise is stolen and any store treats them the way you were treated, or worse yet, their identity is stolen, they won't grasp the severity of what happened to you.
It's too bad that more people cannot see the big picture. I wish you the best.
So here's how you send a message to retailers that you think offer less than acceptable customer service -- you don't patronize them. In case you didn't catch that, Don't shop there! That's how a market economy functions. Oh but that would place some responsibility on the us as individuals. That's not acceptable!
P.S. Reality check --If you think that these retailers are so deplorable why not try living and shopping in other countries. You have no idea how good we have it in the US.
Wow, 54 MILLION SMACKERS! That is the way to go baby. You knock 'em dead!!
I saw someone wrote, "you are a consumer hero"; NO, you go way beyond the hero level as far as I'm concerned. You are in a league of your own!
Corporate America, especially the type of companies that sell something to consumers are way out of hand- beyond belief. They just don't care anymore!!! They screw you, and laugh at your frustration; they rape you and then kick you when you're down; they take and take and take, and hide behind their bullshit legal documents and present such an arrogance that I find it hard to believe they can even exist.
But our country has allowed Big Business a special Backstage Pass to do and go anywhere they want, and have opened the doors to their free wheeling attitudes to do whatever the hell they choose without any retribution, at the most a slight slap on the hand.
UNF%@&!^G BELIEVABLE!!!
What you are doing is practically spiritual and you should be praised by the masses for this act. It is clear the 54 Million is a gesture to make a point and bring to the attention of the media this horrific mistake (which was done precisely as it should of been- at least that is how it is being perceived by many of us media people). Those that say how foolish you are, or "whatever" really just don't get the point, or maybe work for BB and need that job security.
I had a problem with bb years ago, about repairing my computer. Actually, while I was in the store shopping I brought my computer in for virus cleaning and came back after several hours, they couldn't find it, they lost my computer in about 2 hours!! Then as I waited for them for another couple of hours (and it was a desktop to boot), they finally found it and said their tech couldn't fix it.
WHAT A JOKE! When I booted it up it didn't work at all, and had to use it in Safe Mode.
Anyway, I decided instead of dealing with the incompetence of best buy, I would never shop there again. So I haven't, and that was several years ago. And I don't refer them to anyone like I use to, and I certainly do try to convince those going there to purchase items elsewhere.
Just the other day while ordering items at ProFlowers for Valentines day it took 4 days and about 15 hours of time to actually place an order for flowers. I did place 4 other orders, 4 different times and gave my credit card to 4 different people, 3 of which were hired hands outsourced to help for the holiday from their homes. Who knows where my credit card number might end up???
Suffice it to say, I will NEVER USE PROFLOWERS AGAIN!!! And I will tell the world this through the Internet like we all are doing right now. Hey, this is a great idea for a blog to help people bitch about their problems- think I'll create it!
The Internet is very powerful. If you want to see how powerful it really is, follow this story about this lovely lady who has the Chutzpah to sue a mega giant US Corporation. Also, follow the "Financials" of BB over the next year, you will see how all of this will effect their bottomline in a very big way!!
Don't ya love the power of the net? And they said we could never have a revolution here in america; haaa!!
Best of luck to you, I hope to see BB on the auction block in a couple years, I could use a cheap laptop!
You are lame. You don't deserve $52 million dollars. I don't care what you think this is worth. It was one mistake and you try to get your fifteen minutes of fame in court. Just accept the few thousand dollars and new computer and get over yourself. You said you want "fair compensation." Does $52 million sound fair for one lost product? Give up. Get a life and a new computer. So many things are your own fault here.
While I do think a point needs to be made, I agree with one of the other posters, this is too much. Especially since there is blame to go around. It was dumb to hand them a laptop with all your personal information on it. On the other hand, if it was so far gone to the point where the drive would not spin up, she may have not had much of a choice. Best Buy should still be held accountable regardless. Especially since they knew they screwed up throughout the entire process.
Having read your blog (very well written and reasoned) it is painfully, awkwardly clear that the majority of those criticizing you have not bothered to read past the first sentence or two. How sad.
Good luck with your suit. I do hope you win, and hope that BB is forced to change their reprehensible practices.
I was reading your article on Best Buy and the lawsuit for 54 million dollars. I have had major run in’s with Best Buy since December 2006. I purchased a new computer from them in August of 2006. At the time of my purchase for some odd reason (which I discovered later) they declined to sell me an extended warrantee. Starting in December of 06 my computer started to fail. They saw the problem but gave me an excuse and would not service it. Later I got it back in and they finally accepted it. It went in 6 times and they never fixed it. When it was returned I would turn on the computer in front of them and it would not even turn on, they would again send it out for repair. Then they lost it in August, it ironically showed up after the manufactures warrantee expired. My computer never worked for over 9 months. Then I contacted the Geek Squad directly and found out my computer has NEVER been serviced. None of my invoice receipts worked, my name was not in their system and there was no record of my computer ever being fixed. This has been in the hands of the State of Tennessee and the State of Minnesota. To date, Best Buy never fixed my computer, when the warrantee expired they said it was no longer their problem. Then I discovered back in March of 2007 Best Buy was found to be selling used equipment as new, and I really believe that they did that here in the Knoxville Tennessee store. I would love the name of that attorney as Best Buy refuses to comment or do anything else, even though for over 9 months my computer was never fixed.
From all the fraud I have seen regarding Best Buy and the Geek Squad, I am all for this. Will your attorney work with me also here in Tennessee? I am tired of fighting with Best Buy, and their clear fraud and deceitfulness as they are refusing to do anything. They simply waited for the warrantee to expire!
Thanks!
I support your boycott of Best Buy and am forwarding your link to a number of friends and relatives who will also be sympathetic.
What I absolutely cannot understand is this "blame the victim" mentality popping up in the commentary! Not all of us are talented enough to diagnose or repair our computers and therefore have to rely upon the integrity of the "shop" we take it to for service.
Look, let's say I have just left the photography studio where I had all my wedding photos and children's videos etc. put into digital format, and I get into a car crash. My car is towed to a garage for repairs. They fail to protect it while on their premises, so it is stolen (along with all my precious mementos!). Every time I call to check on how the repairs are progressing I am LIED to about the car, its whereabouts, everything. Hell, it never turns up again!
Everything in it when I "crashed" is gone, the car itself is gone. I have been paying for a rental car for months, trying to get some kind of satisfaction from the garage for the whole mess, all to no avail. Damn right I would sue! The company accepting your property for repair has AT LEAST a moral responsibility to provide the service they are selling and to make you whole when you suffer by their malfeasance. If - after months and months of pusuing a claim through the proper channels -one has yet to be compensated, there is almost an obligation to sue the bejeebers outta them.
Best of luck. You have support; ignore the naysayers.
What Best Buy did was wrong, and you should be entitled to fair compensation for that. But your actions are not without fault either.
First, I think you were stupid for buying a laptop at Best Buy in the first place. Best Buy is a good place to buy a CD or a DVD, but certainly not a laptop. Their poor rep is well deserved. But you ignored that...
Then, you failed to backup your data, like 95% of people with a laptop. Stupid.
Then, you decided to bring the laptop, not backed up and not encrypted, back to the same idiots you should have never bought from in the first place.
A greedy, low life employee stole your laptop. More greedy low life employees covered it up. Is the Best Buy corporation really to blame? Well, they hired these bozos - but who else will work for minimum wage, only to be treated like dirt by every customer who walks in the door?
They gave you ~ $1600 in compensation so far. Admittedly they handled that poorly. I would say you deserve MAYBE, AT MOST -another $1000.
$54 mil is simply your own greed, plus the greed of your lawyers. Nothing else. Pure, 100%, GREED. If you win your case - and I'm sure you will, hopefully the jury will be sane enough to reduce that amount to something more reasonable. Otherwise you aren't punishing Best Buy - you are punishing every future Best Buy customer who is going to have to pay for your little greed-fest for years to come, in the form of higher consumer prices.
The American public has driven smaller, rebutable businesses completely out of business, in favor of crooks like Best Buy and Circuit City. And as a result, we're getting this type of service. All because we wanted to save a few bucks and shop in large, slick looking superstores. We are all to blame for the end result...
They did almost the exact same thing to me! Since the motherboard had failed, backups were not occuring. They determined it was the motherboard, i instructed that the Hard Drive had very important work that had not been backedup. (of course no offer was made to backup the harddrive before sent to be fixed) They of course lost the hard drive, took months longer than told. And flat out lied to me also. I will never deal with the "Geek Squad" again!
Jeff S.
Rae, push this as far as you can! These idiots here you say otherwise have never been in a big box store and been exposed to the smug attitude. This attitude is driven by the bottom line, meaning that if the store is making a profity they don't care how or if customers are offended or taken advantage of. I had a problem with my local Circuit City in Greensboro, NC. Called and complained and was offered a gift certificate. I didn't request it, but THEY offered. I told the guy I doubted they would ever send it, because as he took my information he said that they would investigate, but any results of that investigation would be private company records and they would never tell if anything further about it. Never got the gift card. Called back with the case number and the next person said that the file didn't have any reference to a gift card and that the district manager had tried to contact me. Ironically, as I told them, I never got a call from anyone on the date they CLAIMED to have tried to reach me for follow up and had no recored on my caller ID on my cell phone and no voice message, but their district manager closed the case after one attempt to reach me. The story here is that big box stores don't care. Your lawsuit is needed to send a message that customer service means finding a reason why you CAN do something, not spouting reasons why you CAN'T do something!
I find the negative comments truly amazing! Please try and read the article before posting! This is a well educated and truly intelligent woman. I read her complaint in its entirety and it does, indeed have merit. Best Buy will definitely have to settle. I do not shop there for electronics or any major appliance. Our BB employees are like many of the ones described in these posts. Makes no sense to buy products from a clerk that knows less than you do! To the foreigners: we live in the most powerful country in the world, so just keep laughing at us "stupid Americans" while Best Buy moves to your country! For the rest? We have plenty of starving children in our own country, perhaps you should channel some of your energy here? I wonder if the comments would somehow be different if this was a man in this situation? I also agree with many others that it can be difficult to back up a hard drive if you cannot power up or boot the computer! Good luck to you RCDC! I already know what the outcome will be!
I have never been impressed with Best Buy's overpriced service center. I never used it because they made me feel uneasy for some reason. I know other people who share the same feelings. I prefer Fry's and so do many people I know.
Many are complaining about trivial lawsuit. A large and painful judgement is the only way to get the attention of corporations like bestbuy. Just look at the huge beef recall just announced.
Let them have it and make it hurt.
I support you 100%!!! I've had a similar (although not nearly as horrible) experience with the Geek Squad, and something definitely needs to be done with these people. Go get 'em! I hope you win!!!
People are not understanding that you aren't actually seeking 54 million. This is to grab the attention and bring to light how big corporations like BB are lacking when it comes to the security of People's identity.
They need to get past the number and realize that you are actually seeking for them to change their system to better server the customer. I am with you on this and HOPE that BB will wise up and change the way they are handling poeple's personal information (which is the original goal). Had you asked for 10k or 15k, would it had reached the news?
I hope this turns out to change their ways.
Personally, I've never had any problems with Best Buy. I bought a $5000 HD TV there that did not work and the store manager not only sent a new one out on the next delivery, he refunded my delivery and set up charges for the first one and he didn't charge me delivery for the new one. More than I asked for. All I wanted was a new TV that worked. I got that and more.
You are making excessive demands. You can't demand that the store manager be replaced without sounding like a spoiled brat whining and wanting her own way. You sound like a spoiled brat whining and wanting her own way and you sure aren't going to get it. That's not how our legal system works.
I do think you deserve money equal to the cost of a new laptop and maybe some extra compensation, say $500 worth, and five years of credit monitoring, but that's it, and you've been offered that and more. You took it.
You didn't seem at all concerned about "sensitive data" when you took your laptop to Best Buy to be repaired. And the fact that it "could" be lost is a reasonable risk in the minds of all rational customers who go there.
Sure, Best Buy employees should not have lied to you, if they, in fact did, but boy, you'd better be able to prove they did in court. Best Buy's Customer Service may need upgrading a notch or two, but this isn't the way to do it.
You can't sue just to "make a point." The only point you're making is that you're either a greedy idiot who doesn't want to work or just plain nuts. Best Buy has compensated you, for your very used computer and your time. If you didn't back up your files, that's your fault, not Best Buy's. And you talk about "possible" identity theft. Okay, my neighbor is a very bad driver. She can't even turn into her own driveway properly. She could hit and hurt me at some point in the future, so should I just go ahead and sue her now? Of course not! Fact is, you've suffered no damage due to the loss of your files. You've suffered no identity theft. You can't sue for a "possible injury." All of us face "possible injuries."
And if it's not about money, then I'd like to see a post saying you'll donate anything you win to charity. That would lend you a lot more credibility.
In my opinion, you're just another lazy American looking for a "free lunch." I hope you end up paying the Best Buy attorneys' fees as well as damages to Best Buy's reputation.
Life is too short and precious for this kind of baloney.
Okay, booch, if the $54 million isn't to make the poster rich, then let's see a sworn statement that she'll donate everything above the cost of a new laptop, five years of credit monitoring, and $1000 for her time to a charity or charities. Until I see that, she's trying to make a fast buck.
This reminds me of that McDonald's Hot Coffee spill lawsuit a few years back. Many people complained that damage amount was excessive without listening to all the facts. Once you consider the facts, you will realize it wasn't excessive at all:
Read all about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants
I sense this is another case of that. Some people will just read the headline and consider the lawsuit to be frivolous without reading the facts. Some special interests will ignore the facts and use this case as a example of why we need tort reform....
Just the facts.
I'm trying to get in contact with Raelyn Campbell or her lawyer. About a year and half ago the same thing happened to me with Best Buy. I purchased a Gateway laptop computer with an extended warrenty, and at one point it needed to be serviced. For over three months I received the run around from multiple persons in the Geek Squad and management, without anyone telling me my laptop was missing. I wasted a lot of time trying to receive an honest answer from someone. No one ever mentioned anything about identity theft, and to this day (several years later), I have no idea where that laptop computer is. I strongly advise people to purchase computers directly from the manufacterer, and never buy any high end merchandise from Best Buy with their warrenty. Good work.
Thank you,
Robin
You go girl. Best Buy has such an aweful customer service that they not only waste your time but they are totally incompetent.
I dropped my laptop early last year and what a pain it was to deal with them. It took them over 5 months to repair the laptop. I had to take the laptop 3 times back to them as they never fixed the problem. Have u ever tried calling BBY after you dropped the laptop? It's a nightmare to deal with them..
Will never spend another dime with them..
@DAVE DUMBSON: You might be right about her waiver of data lost, not data stolen and then covered up by them (best buy), and then not letting her know (all which a offenses).
As a former Geek Squad employee (In-Store "CIA" and later promoted to On-Site "DA")I believe this is a wonderful thing. Best Buy advertises customer service however the truth of the matter is that all that matters generally is the bottom line. At the store that I worked at, the same thing happened on more than one occasion, often times taking several months before the client received a replacement laptop.
As for the wavier, the vast majority of the time (as of a year and half ago anyway, as I am sure policies have changed by now), the wavier was not explained usually and the client would be advised for a data backup. As for data security that is hard to say. Most of the time the rear bays are open for any employee to enter although store policy would dictate that only Geek Squad and management was allowed in the rear. The vast majority (99%) of all hardware repairs are sent to a repair facility (which ever one was closest).
Now granted, I do believe it is the responsibility of the client to know the process that any personal products go through; however, this has been something that has needed to take place for a long time. To many times have I had to give my clients bad news and to many times have I had to fight the corporation to give some resemblance of service.
When Best Buy started increasingly shifting from customer service to increasing the bottom line at all costs, I found myself unable to stomach it. It even got to the point that on-site technicians were often times left with little choice but to write off overtime to avoid termination, due to trying to recover labor costs. I still have some records of this.
I want to know why this story seems to have disappeared from the news.
You might want to check out http://www.nypost.com/seven/09072006/business/home_fires_two_business_suzanne_kapner.htm. Apparently, Mr. Delissio was previously fired from Home Depot for receiving illegal kickbacks from vendors. The theft of your computer was not the only instance of Best Buy not performing due diligence.
Please just explain to us why your data was not backed up BEFORE you brought your laptop to Best Buy.
I have the feeling that should this case get to court, you will have to answer that question anyway.
Last time I checked the law only allows you to collect money for what an item is WORTH at the time it was lost damaged, destroyed, etc.. You do not get to receive money for the cost of the product when it was purchased. It is no different than someone wrecking into your three year old car. The insurance company doesn't give you the price of the car when it was purchased, they give you the value of the car when it was wrecked. You should feel lucky that Best Buy offered to give you a complete discount. Even if your laptop fell under a no-lemon policy exchange under your warranty, you are only entitled to the value of the laptop, not the original purchase price.
Also, your data that was so important to you means nothing to the law. If your data was so important and meant so much to you, you should have backed up your data like any responsible person should. If your hard-drive had crashed and you lost all information on the desktop, then are you going to sue the maufacturer of the laptop? It does't work that way.
Also, in order to sue for damages due to identity theft, you first have to prove that you have been a victim of identity theft directly cause by Best Buy's negligence. Good luck with that one. You can't sue for fear that something WILL happen, only for something that does happen. You may be able to collect costs for monitoring your credit now, but that's about it.
I'll agree that Best Buy treated you badly as a constumer, and should have handled this better, but that does not give you the right to collect unreasonable sums of money. By your own admission this lawsuit is nothing more than a publicity stunt. You should have just taken the money they offered you and gone on with your life.
Best Buy's lawyers are going to come after you hard. You'll be lucky to get anything from them, and if you do, i'm sure it won't even be enough to cover you legal expenses.
Robin and others should Raelyn Campbell or her lawyer. What companies hate the most is a class action. That is why they are currently happy with her suit as it is now. Start collecting a few hundred people with similar stories and watch the Best Buy lawyers/exec panic.
Best Buy can make you sign papers. You, at no time, give up your right to get your property back.
You are a paying customer and have an expectation your property will be safe, protected, secured etc. The same goes for your data - you have an expectation they will not snoop.
These companies would be out of business if they proudly announced "your property could be lost, stolen or abused and tough luck if it is - that will be 99.99"
The geek squad tv & print ads lead you to have an expectation of professionalism and technical skill. Best Buy is also guilty of false advertisement. Raelyn Campbell or her lawyer should also hit Best Buy with this idea.
They should collect all the tv ads and play them back to a jury. They should list the points in the commercials and list how Best Buy has failed to approach any level the ad expect you to experience.
Most important - change to a class action suit after you collect a few more complaints. You know there will be others who never contacted you.
Regarding the McDonald's "coffee case," that person suffered actual damage, although it was her own darn fault and through her own darn stupidity. And even though she suffered actual physical injury, she didn't pull an excessive figure from the news, she originally sued for only $20,000, something that sounds reasonable to me.
The two cases are not analogous at all, except that both woman "lost" something or were harmed through their own actions.
Whereas I understand your frustration, the $54,000,000 suit makes it appear as a frivolous and overly-greedy attempt to gain media attention and a possible big payday. The facts are that your computer crashed and you took it in to be repaired when it was stolen. Did Best Buy do wrong trying to cover up the theft? Yes. Had your computer been non-fixable, you would have been out of the money for it, or else possibly started a long cycle of repair, repair, repair until the warrantee expired. They've paid for your computer, plus given you a $500 gift card. Sorry you don't think that's good enough. I believe most of the people who are cheering you from the sidelines are doing so with the hope that one day a company might make a minor mistake that they too can milk for a bonanza. Meanwhile, people who are legitimately injured by a company are held up from filing suits because the courts are filled with "They lost my pants; I want $54,000,000!" suits. Oh, by the way, the coffee at McDonald's is served really hot, so don't put the cup between your legs and drive and also, don't use your hair dryer in the shower.
$20,000.00 is right, but not enough to teach BAD COMPANIES to treat their customers fairly. while an amount less than 54 mil but much more than 20k will. Big boys need to be punished hard enough to make them hurt. Other wise they will screw 99% of the people they wrong, and only be fair with the ones hat call their hand. An make a fortune on th rest, why change that which them rich.5 or 10 mil will hurt and change the behvior.
"I want to know why this story seems to have disappeared from the news."
Because the news media have moved on to cover equally stupid stories -- the only reason they covered this one is because Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton went a couple of days without doing anything "newsworthy."
As for all the posters who talk about the goal being "media coverage" and not money -- why should be media cover this in the first place? There is no shortage of people out there with legitimate damage claims against major corporations ... through no fault of their own. BS like this just diverts media attention from the stories that truly should be told.
Enjoy your 15 minutes worth of fame, because you truly are yesterday's news ...
The whole McDonalds thing is still a ridiculous lawsuit to begin with though. For that woman to sue was ludicrous! She knew the coffee was hot! If it had been cold she would have been pissed! But instead the coffee is served to her exactly how it should be and the klutz spills it on herself and then attempts to get someone else to pay for her own clumsiness. Come on now people. Take some responsibility for your own actions! I don’t blame McD’s for turning their back on any and all of those cases! They were serving what was expected of them and they were serving the coffee correctly brewed.
Quoted from wikipedia:
If this submission be right, McDonald’s should not have served drinks at any temperature which would have caused a bad scalding injury. The evidence is that tea or coffee served at a temperature of 65 °C (149 °F) will cause a deep thickness burn if it is in contact with the skin for just two seconds. Thus, if McDonald’s were going to avoid the risk of injury by a deep thickness burn they would have had to have served tea and coffee at between 55–60 °C (131–140 °F). But tea ought to be brewed with boiling water if it is to give its best flavour and coffee ought to be brewed at between 85–95 °C (185–203 °F).[10]
Though defenders of the Liebeck verdict argue that her coffee was unusually hotter than other coffee sold, other major vendors of coffee, including Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Wendy's, and Burger King, produce coffee at a similar or higher temperature, and have been subjected to similar lawsuits over third-degree burns.
As for Rae suing for “potential” identity theft, that is ridiculous as well. I can see her suing for the few hundred it would cost to enroll in identity theft prevention for a few years, however suing for something that MAY happen is asinine. That is like me suing my next door neighbor b/c his grill MAY start a fire and burn my house down. Dumb dumb dumb.
I do agree that she deserves to be compensated, but I don’t really see the point in making this big of a deal of it all. Companies (large and small) make mistakes. If you can find one that never does please let me know b/c I am going to become their #1 customer!
I’m curious to see the outcome of all this. Cheers!
Want to know why best buy is not giving you tons of money? because there reading your website and laughing at you. Just like the rest of the world. Oh no don't sue me now.
This is absurd. You should be ashamed of yourself. Best Buy should simply give you a replacement at most. I am truly shocked by this abuse of the judicial system. It's people like you that make this country miserable. And I'm not patriotic at all. Shocking.
Every time I go into the Best Buy where I live they treat me very well. I have even gotten to know some of the people there and they are always willing to help me out. They've made returns quick, easy, and painless for me.
You go to one of the worst Best Buys in the DMV area and expect great service? You honestly expect every store to carry themselves the same way as another? I'm sorry but you need to realize not everyone can be professional and responsible in the workplace. Best Buy has even attempted to compensate you very well for your lose. You are not a 'consumer hero', and what you are doing is a waste of everyone's time. Attention whoring isn't the right way to go. Things happen. Get over it.
Good Job, Best Buy is a horrible store with no concern for their customers, I had a very hard time getting them to fix a PC under warrenty that I had just bought from them. They finally agreed to deal with the issue when I told them I am an IT professional and I know whats wrong with it, the idiot geek squad kid suggested I fix it then, after a few carefully selected words they took it and fixed it.. I don't know what their problem is but they certainly don't seem to want to retain customers, or atleast the treatment I got led me to that conclusion. Thanks you on my behalf for sticking it to these idiots.
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